Rules of Abduction
by Snow Sparkle
Summary: Eloping with the one you love was the sweetest thing a girl could ever dream of. Kinda like Romeo and Juliet. But eloping with your kidnapper was a different story. Specially if Romeo was the most arrogant person ever.
1. Mikan ala Helen of Troy

**Opening Note(s):** Expect a _slight_ change of characterism. Needless to say, they are OOC. Oh, and since I suck at Geography, I'll be making-up my own globe. Also, forgive my lack of knowledge to ships. Lastly: Stealing is bad okay! Don't try to do these stuffs at home— or everywhere!

**Disclaimer:** I have... let's say around 20 bucks in my wallet, no bank account, there are a few who owe me money but I doubt it'll reach a thousand. And Gakuen Alice costs around millions. So, _umm_, I guess you already figured it out if I own it, right? You fellas are smart. And no, the disclaimer won't be repeated every chapter. I see no sense on that. It isn't like the fact ever changes.

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter I – Mikan ala Helen of Troy

—

_Rule 1: Spontaneity leads to serendipity. Take Mikan Sakura, the most impulsive person on earth, for example._

—

—

Natsume kicked a random and rather unfortunate lying chunk of wood into the ocean. Based on his scowling expression, Hotaru and Ruka knew how bored and how peeved he was and how he longed to get out of what seemed to be a hell-hole.

They were somewhere at the middle of the Northern Hame ocean, one of the world's largest bodies of water, with nothing but a deliberately big and devastated wood of a once-great ferry. The piece of wood was sturdy and steady enough, much to all of their relief, that one could stand, lie or dawdle on it.

'_Better than storming though...'_ Ruka, one of the strandies reassured and consoled himself under the sun that was cheerfully roasting all of them. Certainly, this wasn't the worst situation. He knew. He wasn't merely saying that because of listening to other's misadventures. He has his own. He, no, _them_, they had been on much tougher situations than this. Unfortunately, for his crimson-eyed friend Natsume, nothing was worse than pure, absolute and lasting boredom. He adorable hated it.

"Dammit!" Natsume ran his fingers through his raven locks, seemingly to forget the fact that his wind-swept hair was in a messy, sticky tangle due to salt water. He threw his hand furiously, his fingers, needless to say, have failed to go all the way.

Trying to bend his anger on _someone_ he whipped his head to their only female companion. "Imai..." he growled, clenching his fist. "How dare you miscalculate! We've been here for two hours!"

Hotaru, the one he called Imai, eyed him evenly, not in the very least furious or bothered at his crude remark. She was used to his cussing anyway. "What do you expect me to do, apologize?" She folded her arms in her most defiant way. "It's your fault, you merely provided their departure time and distance from here but you didn't give the state of the ship's machines, the crew's personality, if they were fast-workers or non-tardy—"

A hand of signal to stop interrupted Hotaru from berating him. At first, Hotaru thought that he was annoyed and that he had had enough of bruising him with truths of his poor leadership. Then a great shadow loomed over theirs and instantly, knew what was the halt all about.

Quickly she ran to the edge of the slightly wobbly wood, dipped her cupped hands into the water and gave herself a brief body wash. Not that she was vain or anything, it was a must of their current task.

"What are ya scalawags doing down there?" a gruff, bulky and body-less man yelled as he peered down at them.

The _great_ shadow turned out to be an average-sized ship and it stopped probably for curiosity's sake. Hotaru couldn't help but to glare at Natsume.

So the ship was a small fry, it wasn't like they had to back down.

"Oh thank goodness!" Ruka cried to himself. Staring with anticipation, he replied in a strangled voice, "We need help! Our ship was wretched of storm! It was terrible!"

_Yeah. Like everyone says that._

The man narrowed his eyes in scrutiny. "How can us know we can trust ya?"

Ruka sighed in exasperation. He hated being the spokesman and dealing with them. "Believe it or not, we're royalties and if you so do help us, our kingdom will be willing to reward you."

The man's eyes sparkled with poorly restrained greed, obviously the materialistic type. With a keyed-up greedy snigger, he about-faced to turn to his party and laid-out the deal. It wasn't a long wait when the same man returned, this time with a sham friendly smile.

"Sure thing lads, hop on!"

Without further ado, the three niftily scaled their way up through a makeshift ladder that was conveniently dropped down. Instantly, they were aware that the crew was studying and appraising their pretty faces.

Starting with Ruka's sunshine-gold hair and deep-ocean-blue eyes, to Natsume's heavenly raven locks and ultra-rare crimson orbs and finally to Hotaru's as equally heavenly as Natsume's dark tresses and sparkly amethyst irises— With all their pretty faces and seemingly flawless, smooth skin, they were undoubtedly royalties to the eyes of the crew.

That was why all were dead and lightning-stricken when Natsume, who was merely about seventeen or eighteen, deftly did a somersault to the stack of barrels around six-feet in height with a haughty, belittling look on his face.

"Listen, bunch of doofus, don't you dare do anything brash or you'll end up in charcoal sacks. Give me everything you've got—"

A loud rude guffaw interrupted Natsume, much to his annoyance but pretty much expecting it.

"_Pretty boy_ here's havin' a delusion he's a pirate!" someone pointed out and all of them laughed as if the whole ordeal they were in was the biggest joke they had ever had.

They were quite understandable anyway. The physical stereotype for pirates were maimed or/and disengaged parts of body, eye-patches, middle-aged (if not enough for afterlife— a.k.a. the 'olde salt'), scruffy hairs, unlikely pets, armed with deadly weapons and certainly the crew was more than the number of three. Heck, the one they were terrorizing looked more of pirates than them.

Natsume gave the crazy crowd a lop-sided grin. He couldn't hold on much longer to make them eat their own scorns. Instantly, fire appeared on his palm and played it with his fingers.

"Feeling inferior, mere mortals?" He chuckled almost darkly that even made Ruka, his teammate, cringe. Satisfied at the mobs horrified expression, he released the ball of flame and threw it down the floor where they stood.

"Show off." Hotaru waved the smoke off her face with measured stokes, not a bit impressed with her teammate's display of power. Peering down the hole he made, she inwardly exclaimed _Bingo! _upon spotting what seemed to be the main room. Looks like she didn't have to go on a thorough search and since all the losers were fiercely running in all directions, she invited herself down the hole in search of loots.

If there was one thing that could make the almighty Hotaru fell into her knees, it was money. And she literally did, that moment she cracked the ship's vault open with her deft hand and ear.

—

"How much?" Ruka asked conversationally, taking a seat next to Hotaru who was in charge of counting the amount of loots.

She didn't look back. Her attention was on the loots. Picking up a seraph figurine, she cupped her chin and replied. "Less than hundred-k."

"Cheapskates..." Ruka couldn't help to mutter. All the work and unwanted sunbathing for nothing.

"I know."

He sighed. Forget about the dingy loots, what if the cheeseparers spread a word that the _great_ _Raven Ridge_ was burgling even the lowest sea-vessels? Now, that could maim their reputation...

"They won't believe them." Hotaru said in monotone, reading him like an open book.

"Believe what?" Dear heavens, he didn't comprehend.

"Us robbing them." she pointed out with a _Duh!_ lacing her tone. "It's as absurd as a story of a sane, rich, handsome, macho, perfect, ladies' man raping a horse."

Ruka pinched his side to avoid unwanted shuddering. "Too much unnecessary details!"

"But it works." She smiled knowingly at him.

He waved his hands in an off-hand manner, trying to convince her that he thought she was ridiculous and very much annoyed at her penetrating, calculating stare. "Do you think what we did is as absurd as that?"

"Close." she said, disgusted. "That best friend of yours can't keep his arse on bay that he even accepts random mission tips."

"You know what he does to kill his boredom. It's his greatest enemy." he argued without conviction. "And it was Persona who tipped him."

Hotaru upturned her lips. Disapproval evident. "That twerp again..."

"Yeah... I really don't know what made Natsume trust that guy. Persona's every atom exclaims death."

"He doesn't trust that twerp. He merely accepts every mission because he sense the twerp's challenge." Again, there was this knowing and arrogant smile on her face that Ruka was so sure he'd give anything just to rub it off.

_Kiss her senseless. That'll do the job_, his inner mind jeered and he couldn't help not to laugh with his absurd thoughts. Looking at Hotaru's pensive stare, he entertained the idea for a while until he didn't find it funny any longer and soon found himself flushing hot in embarrassment.

"What's for dinner?" Natsume without a warning, busted the door open and stood there waiting for response.

"Instant noodles..." Ruka answered glumly and scrambled the to the next seat, intending to leave a one-seat gap between he and Hotaru.

"Fucking instant noodles!" Natsume stormed loudly, expressing his distaste of the food by banging the wall with sheer passion. "Why the hell, with all this fucking money, all we get to eat are stinking junks?!"

"Because," Hotaru eyed him warily, "we're days away from land, fishes at Hame weren't edible and instants are convenient in view of the fact that they don't spoil easily."

"With your fucking alice you could invent something that could preserve food for months!"

Hotaru raised a brow, sensing his challenge of battle of wits. Like she was going to let him win. "You said it yourself, _Hyuuga_," she sneered his paternal name, "I invent not do magic. I don't break Laws of Physics."

"I thought you were a law-breaker, _Imai_." he equally sneered her name as well. "Even not, aren't you innovative and resourceful enough to invent something from the materials lying around uselessly here?"

"Unlike you, I don't use my alice on _shameful_ materials," She was referring on how he showed off on their last task. "I use my alice solely to the best and there's no way I'm gonna let you ruin my reputation."

_Ouch._ "Whatever. Let us stuff ourselves with bad cholesterol..." He mentally kicked himself for slowly in loss of nasty words.

With that Hotaru knew the round went with her but she wasn't finished. Just to spite him she again talked. "I can ruin my reputation under one condition."

Natsume struggled not to let his face show anticipation. They had been eating instants for more than a week and he was actually craving for _actual_ food.

"You produce fire in an airless vault."

Natsume, the fire-tempered captain narrowed his eyes, walking steadily as he sent daggers of glare to Hotaru.

"How dare you prissy inventor insult my fire—"

"Phone!" Ruka gasped out, relieved that he had an excuse to ease the tension and delay the war.

Natsume whipped his head. "Who?!" Damn he was in no mood for phone calls.

"Your phone buddy." Ruka announced with a wide grin. Even when Natsume snatched the handset from him, his grin didn't falter.

"Yes?!" he snapped in the line, in full intention to make the person flinch and cower in fear. To his surprise, he instead heard a low gurgling rumble coming from the throat that suspiciously sounded like a chuckle.

"How are you doing?" was the greeting.

_My phone buddy indeed..._ he thought darkly, grinding his teeth upon recognition of the voice.

_Persona..._

"Great. How's fucking boys lately?" he inquired in a mock innocent and interested tone, leering inwardly as his hand met Ruka's approving high-five.

There was a pause in the line. Either he was thinking of a spiffy comeback or was too stunned to talk. It turned out to be the former. "Not quite good. I yet have to get a taste of you."

"You bring vomit to my throat."

"My pleasure." Persona replied evenly. "I will no longer inquire of how's your last mission, it always goes well. I am here to seek your _help_."

"On what?"

"I need you to kidnap—"

"We don't abduct people."

"This one's big-time. It's a princess."

"What do you mean '_This one's big time._' you knew— Wait, a royalty?!"

Persona smiled slyly on the other line, pleased that Natsume momentarily forgot to rattle him about his unintelligent slip-of-a-tongue of the last mission. "Yes. Whatever you thought _it_ was?"

"Your sex monkey?"

"Nice try. _You_ won't get into my nerves no matter how hard you try. Only _I_ can make you do that."

Natsume took a sharp breath. _No way_ he was going to let Persona know he had yet again made his nerves tangle in anger. "Kingdom of what?!" was his _brilliant_ move. His snap made Persona smirk in triumph.

"Frayland."

He raised a brow. "Got wars there?"

"In spite of the name, Frayland's quite a peaceful kingdom. However, yes, a long time ago it was the theatre of war of—" he deliberately stopped, shaking his head for telling unnecessary tales. "I don't want to do history now. I'm busy so I need to know if you're gonna accept or not."

"How much?"

Again, there was his sly smirk that Persona was wishing Natsume could see it and made him snap more. "Not _How much?—_ _What?_"

Natsume rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to talk grammar with him. "By all means, shoot!"

"Does an alice stone of your choice sounds good to you?"

He clenched the handset and briefly tempted to tweak his ear in case he didn't hear right.

He did hear _alice stone_, didn't he? The stone so ultimately rare and was considered to be the most valuable item in their time... How the hell did Persona get his filthy hands on one of those? And why was he willing to give one, not to mention _of his choice_?

Meaning... he got _a lot_ of those...

Testingly, he said, "How big?"

"Clench your fist."

He didn't. He'd be damned before he did what _this_ manipulating Persona told him to do. "Go on."

"Very well, that size of the fist you're seeing is how big your alice stone is."

Now he _did_ clench his fist!

Staring wide-eyed and jaw shamefully dropped down, he was already seeing his fist as a giant alice stone.

There was a chuckle in the line and Natsume knew Persona had seen through him. He had manipulated him and he wasn't aware of it.

Irritated that he again fell for his traps he growled. "Is there anything funny?"

Persona quelled his laughter. "No, no. Nothing."

"Then you must be crazy for laughing at _nothing_."

"I am crazy Natsume. So what now? I'll send you the details. Do we have a deal?"

Of course anyone would have answered straight away. A bounty so fabulous and rich as an alice stone! However Natsume didn't, he wanted to but he didn't. He wanted to prolong the wasted seconds just to spite Persona. And then, after good fifteen seconds, he did. "Deal." He smirked.

Perhaps now, Persona thought he had yet again manipulated Natsume by agreeing. But no, no, no. Not this time. He had plans of getting back at him and this time, he'd make sure the strings would be wrapped around his fingers and so the puppeting.

—

—

Mikan ran paddling like a duckling, her speed horse like. Her arms were carrying yards of heavy clothing and her fur shoes were quite slippery against the marble tarmac.

She was agile, quick, energetic and lively— not like what most thought of her. The freezing night breeze prickled her exposed skins. Usually she savored the air but she wasn't in the mood to be all-jolly and carefree and all those Sound-of-Music-ish antics.

Within minutes she shut her room with an atomic bang and flew herself to the enormous bird-tomb draped bed, crying her eyes out whilst positioning herself on an Indian-sit. She had make-up lessons later that night yet as per usual, she didn't give a shit. What was it to lose anyway? It wasn't like she was to make curriculum vitae out of it. In fact, she didn't need to make one.

Her life was so annoyingly and disgustingly comfortable— it was a nightmare, a complete bore! All she had to do was pretty herself to impress royalties and then someone would marry her to live _happily ever after_. No dragon-slaying prince, no hard-ships, no stupid evil witches to conspire her _immaculate_ life.

Her mother, who preferable wanted to be called 'The Queen' (as she was in fact one), her remaining living close relative since her father died, had seemingly betrayed her when the queen had engaged her to Marques Alexander O'Hara.

It wasn't because O'Hara wasn't a prince that made her reject him and it certainly wasn't because O'Hara was ugly. Truth to be told, his dark, handsome looks could make girls and women swoon. The turning off points were: O'Hara was an incredibly boring man, he liked politics (Mikan hated it) and he was a vain narcissist who kept talking about himself.

_...And mom had to break it today on my sixteenth birthday..._

Her crying had quieted now, only a few hiccups here and there. Then with a mass of frustration and anger she let out a strangled scream until— a cold hand callously clasped over her mouth. The hand was steady as a stone and smelt of the sea. The goosebumps swarming from her lower back to her nape told her she was in danger.

"Mrph mm mhr mhrmmng?!" Obviously Mikan.

She felt him smirk behind her, seemingly an expert in making out words out of muffled voices.

"Abducting you." he explained flatly. His voice was deep and cutthroat.

"Mr! Mrp hrrmp mmphr hh mrph hrsh, mrr hmphm hmp mrp!"

He snorted. "I'm not an idiot to release you just yet."

Yet she was persistent and he had wished he could downright hit the girl. But orders were orders. Besides in his 'Code of Ethics', hitting a girl or a woman was the most degrading thing a man could ever do. "Mrsh mm hmpp hrrp!"

Annoyed like hell for he didn't know what to do as this was his first time to deal with kidnapping, he released her mouth, threw her face down to her bed and pinned her down with his hands to show her he was still in control.

"Just you try—"

"_Oh_! For the love of—" Her words ended in a gasp when he roughly turned her into a supine position, him sitting on her stomach and finally giving her the face of her assaulter.

"Love of what?" he challenged, a harsh look on his red irises that made Mikan wonder how could harsh eyes such as his _heed_ her request for _press freedom_.

Maybe he was confident enough to let a prissy little princess like her have her tongue?

"Of self expression." she managed to answer cheekily. "Look, as what I've told you, I won't resist. I simply want to get my things."

"You're not fantasizing to elope with me, are you?" Natsume snorted and let her go, surprisingly lenient and swiftly positioning himself at the center of Mikan's chamber, letting her know his speed was to be reckoned with and that she shouldn't think about escaping.

"No. Are you?" Really now, she should be shutting her mouth and even hiding her arse under the comforts of blankets but she couldn't bring herself to be afraid of this boy. Intimidated, yes, but definitely not afraid. Why, he was looking about the same age of her! He couldn't mean her harm, could he? If he did, he could have knocked her over and he wouldn't discharge her.

She clambered under her bed and momentarily shifted hidden items under it and then came out with a valise. It wouldn't take a genius to concur that she had long ago planned her escape.

What a convenient abduction...

Brushing where she thought have dust stains, Mikan faced her abductor in the moonlight and for the first time she noticed that he too was smeared with charcoal dirt and hinted her he came from the chimney. Obviously, two people would have a hard time passing through a chimney so how does he plan to escape?

She stretched out her arms indolently to him, beckoning him to carry her bridal style (like what she have seen on folk tales) yet he caught her off-guarded and rather dumb-stricken when he hauled her up (instead of securing his arms around her back knees and shoulders) and threw her over his shoulder. Needless to say, he was carrying her like a sack of potatoes.

No doubt Mikan was peeved and threw him all kinds of expressing her distaste. A princess being carried as if she was a mere baggage? As spoilt as it might sound, that was the biggest insult a royalty could ever take.

But he simply ignored her protests and kicked her suitcase high up, deftly catching it with his free hand. "Enjoying it?"

"Not as much as you are enjoying it." she said with all her spite. Unfortunately, all of her spite churned to horror by the time he stormed not into the door but into the glass windows— her permanently _pasted_ glass windows, and he jumped and flew into the air.

And like all the princesses do, she fainted in the most shameful, maladroit way.

How clichéd.

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** Not much of a start, hunh? Lest you're wondering who is Helen of Troy, she was. _Um_. Voluntarily abducted (_if there's such kind_) by her lover— Obviously it wasn't because she fell in love with Natsume at first sight. Don't beat me but I hate it when characters fall in love that easily. X3

I do hope what I did was enough to catch your interest, I'd love to see you all again next chapter. And, I may be a new writer but that doesn't mean I'm new _here_ so I know about the purple button down _there_. (hint! hint!)


	2. Lucky Seven

**Opening Note(s):** I'm glad I've made some of you laugh... albeit I'm afraid the humor won't be constant 'coz you see, the category here is Romance/_Adventure_. Don't worry, I'll try to humor you once in a while. ;)

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter II – Lucky Seven

—

_Rule 2: When three was added to four the sum would be seven. Hurts the brains to do simple math, yeah?_

—

—

"You're going to stay here?" Ruka queried wide-eyed, stumped at Natsume's behavior. When Natsume didn't respond and merely looked at him as if to say _Go on!_ Ruka helped himself observe his best friend, speculating what had possessed Natsume. It wasn't like everyday when the captain refused to get some shore-fun whenever they have the time to spare. Well actually they weren't on the shore to have fun, they were to collect their other crew members.

Believe it or not, their head count were not always three. Not a great addition when it comes with the number yet it was Quality over Quantity. There were other four members of _Raven Ridge_ who have their own distinguishing _alice_. It was only that they were having a break from work that the original trio members (almost akin to the big bosses albeit Natsume was the head of the head) were left to do all the dirty works. Paradoxical wasn't it?

Testingly, Ruka attacked Natsume's Achilles' heel. "There are restaurants down the dirt road, sure you don't want to come?"

"Yes. I'll stay."

Incredible. What was the force that made Natsume refuse the most tempting temptation?

"We'd done grocery and only few more miles we'd be out of Hame so there'd be more seafood for us."

_Aha! _So that was why. However, Ruka couldn't give up just yet. He liked dawdling around with Natsume and he needed some break without Hotaru by his side like a guardian devil. "But you kno—"

"Zip up, _Nogi_." Only one person would call Ruka by his surname and that was Hotaru. "He and Andou had a fight remember? Can't force someone to welcome his antagonist with open arms."

At the mention of the reason, Ruka couldn't help not to roll his eyes. Not again with those two having trivial, paltry and childish arguments. "What was it _this time_?"

Natsume simply kept fuming around the ship's deck, chewing over their last fight. Having reminded of how Tsubasa Andou sinned to him, he lobbed furiously the poor, pitiful android of Tsubasa that was invented by Hotaru to prevent any unnecessary fistfight among the two. In fact, there was also a Natsume android lying somewhere around the ship for Tsubasa...

"You punk!" he growled darkly at the android, holding it captive with the android's shirt. He wasn't satisfied with the android as his stress and anger reliever, he wanted the real thing and his desire to pound the actual Andou increased when the android merely blinked back at him innocently. "I swear! I'm gonna powder Andou's balls when he get back here!" His glare intensified at the androids another blank look. "For now, since your stupid void face pisses me off, you'd do!" Then he beat the living daylights out it.

Turning his head away from the far too gore scenes, Ruka sighed like a mother then stared at the remaining sane person on the ship. _Typical_. Left alone with Hotaru again— The human girl with the same expressions as her androids.

Nevertheless as annoying and irritating the feeling might get, he couldn't help his heart skip a beat in anticipation of spending time with her.

He must be crazy.

—

—

A sound of creaking wood was the sound Mikan had been aware to when she regained her consciousness. Her eyes were closed but her other senses were starting to cope up with the living.

Her head ached like hell and it was either she lacked sleep or she had abundant of it. Since there was no light offending her eyes that time, she presumed it was that she lacked sleep and that it was only two to three hours since she lost her head into some nice fluffy clouds.

Another creaking sound kept her awake.

"Must be mother..." Mikan muttered half-lethargically and half-indignantly. She kept her eyes shut, hands thrown over her ears to prevent the noise that was snapping her awake. Either that or she was preparing for her mother's prying. "I bet she's gonna berate me about my walking out and send me back forcefully to the freaking ball..." Then with a sadder tone she added, "It isn't like she's here to kiss me goodnight..."

Groaning, she noticed her body was hurting in all places and gradually being aware that she was lying down on a hard floor.

Thinking she'd fallen out of her bed, she'd let her hand meander around her perimeter to grab her sheets only to grab something else.

Mikan blinked slowly and for a moment she thought she wasn't even blinking, as all she saw were obscurity. Was she still sleeping and having a dream? Gradually her vision began to get better to make out silhouettes of boxes, barrels and other cargos yet not better enough to walk without fear of bumping into something. Her option for now was to ponder her situation and hence she helped herself to sit by her elbows at first then by her ankles whilst she shifted her foot behind her.

How on earth did she manage to get there, she had no idea. All of a sudden, a queasy feeling came and she held her head for moral support as if to say _Hang on!_ Was she having amnesia? There was only one way to find out...

"My name's Mikan Sakura. Freshly turned sixteen. Being biased aside, _I_ believe I'm the prettiest girl on earth while O'Hara's the biggest jerk in the whole universe..." Mikan uttered dully, orienting herself. So she remembered the basic facts. Good. Finding her memory of the night would be a walkover.

She stood up but unprepared to the sudden drunken shake of the floor, sending her smacking against the wall. Oh dear, she felt like she was hovering over the air.

Hovering... the word whirled a strange feel of déjà vu.

Last night... last night she walked out from her very own birthday banquet, all thanks to the freaking 'special announcement' of her being engaged. It was utterly atrocious.

Most of Frayland's romantic folktales often told about a young beautiful maiden of the age of sixteen that was set to marry her prince charming. But those were tales! This was reality!

Sixteen was too young of an age to get into the _dutiful_ honeymoon. She was sure as hell knew she didn't want cervix cancer, _thankyouverymuch_. Heck if O'Hara would be the patient gentleman to wait for his little wife to grow up before touching her— not that she would want to have sex with him if she was past eighteen. But that was beside the point, men were all impatient— specially if we were talking about mangling a girl's body.

Bile rose to Mikan's throat.

_Sweet_ sixteen, hunh?

Now where had that come from? Whoever added the word 'sweet' there must be burned alive (if he/she was still breathing), the way how the medieval witches catch flame under the tormenting vicious circle of wood.

Screw it! She wasn't in the slightest mood to be sweet.

_Five days to seven..._ she reckoned as soon as the recollections of the night flood over her brain cells. She had long ago planned an escape attempt and luckily a crimson-eyed boy came to fulfill her dreams like a genie and just when she needed it— Just the time when she got vocally engaged to O'Hara.

At the span of five or seven days, her mother's unshaken façade would shatter into millions of pieces. Queen Yuka might be cold-hearted but Mikan was still her child and no mother would want her child (specifically her daughter) to get _severely_ hurt. This would be her expression rebellion. If she was lucky, her mother might even cancel the engagement.

_That'll be enough for them to find and ponder about the note I left— _A jolt of horror and realization interrupted her plan's evaluation.

With shaking fingers, she brought them up into her mouth and nibbled her nails. "I-I never did write a n-note... I was so caught up about escaping that I—"

She shook her head with determination. This was no time for berating herself. "I've got to get out of here. I can't let all these trouble be for naught..."

Afraid she might bump into something if she stood up and walk up-right, she began to slither her way to whatever direction she thought where the exit was. It wasn't too long when she came into an abrupt stop; her right foot was caught into something.

Nonplussed and trepidation rising, her hands skimmed over her aching part at the juncture of her right ankle and lower leg and was staggered to feel a cold metallic object clasped around its perimeter. Attached to the cylindrical steel were chains and quickly she found it tied into a lone rectangular pole.

"What's this?!" she said tetchily, trying to break free as she pulled the chains away from the pole, her legs entrenched on the pole was supporting the pull. Needless to say it was all but a worthless, energy-consuming struggle. Heck, it wasn't like her biceps were bulky... thus she got on to the part where she was good at.

"Hey!! Can you hear me Mister Kidnapper!?"

No response.

"_Unfoot_ me now!"

Still no response.

"Release me, scumbag!!"

Yet another silence.

"I swear, I won't shut—"

"Oh shut up, you sod." Mister Kidnapper, Natsume, replied out of the darkness. Mikan immediately located him only leaning against the pillar where she was chained. "I'm taking a nap here."

"Tough!" was her immediate response, making an annoyed kick on the chains. "Why am I being tied here?"

It took seconds before an answer came. "You're an abductee." he stated the obvious whilst scoffing. "I thought you had brains to compensate for your ugly face?"

If you know anyone who wouldn't be angry if a stranger called her ugly, please do introduce her to Mikan Sakura and me. "What do you mean _ugly_, git-faced!"

"Exactly." he pointed out wryly and sighed as if talking to her was a waste of time, much to Mikan's confusion. "See? You can't even understand a simple word. What else is the definition of ugly?"

Mikan fumed silently, glaring at him. "That was a rhetorical question, _thankyouverymuch_. Now I'd appreciate you more if you release me." she said, head on air and pretty much like a demanding, spoilt princess that she never thought that was in her.

He shrugged, nevertheless grinned in slight amusement. "Can't and won't."

"Why?" she persisted, albeit knowing the answer.

"We're on shore. An ample opportunity for a run off."

"I won't escape," _A little white lie couldn't hurt..._ However she was aware how sham her tune sounded so she went on stating a fact to cover up her blunder. "I went with you willingly, didn't I?"

"Like hell you won't. You just did. That was why you noticed those chains."

Mikan's mouth rounded a big O. The kind of face you'd make when you caught your sweetie making-out with your best friend. The betrayed look. "I thought you were taking a nap?"

"Nap. Not sleep. Now shut up."

"_Aha_!" She snapped her fingers in assumed triumph. Too bad the snap was soundless that Natsume wouldn't appreciate her pathetic endeavor to gloat. "Now that you said it, no way I won't. Release me and I shut up! And I'm telling you, I'm whine like a lost, freaking puppy." Okay, hurting her very own ego was a little hard but so what? The sooner she got out of the place, the better. Then perhaps she could get back here? Well, where the hell should she hide if she had left to leave a note?

"No deal."

Mikan pursed her lips together, thinking of ways to bribe him. Few seconds after, she brightened up after thinking of the bribe and said, "I've got this—"

A golden pocket watch with semi-precious stones dangled right at her eye-level, cut through her mouthblab. "Are you going to bribe me with _this_ pocket watch?"

How he got it and how he knew it was the item Mikan was referring to, was a mystery to a non-scoundrel like her.

"You thief!" she exclaimed as she tried to swat back her timepiece but to no avail. "Get that back!"

"You're very demanding, princess." he said with dark flippancy. He started to inch closer to her, mentally noting her nervy look with a smirk. "I don't think you understand your situation. I am the bad guy here and I can kill you whenever I want."

Mikan pealed her eyes away. He has the way of smirking and threatening people at the same time convincing. "You don't scare me!" she bit back, although it might have done her a little justice if she _hadn't_ squeaked.

"Did I just hear a little mouse squeaking?" He sniffed haughtily. "You're not convincing me. And just so,_ this_ is what I can do to you." He again met her eyes and through his index finger came a flame and burnt her stray hair impishly.

Mikan distractedly and jumpily put out the trail of flame that was consuming her hair. When she decided it was all-safe for her now, she glared at him with all her spite. "Bull!"

How the hell he did that, she had a slightest clue.

He could be an Alice— a certain individual that has/have _special_ supernatural ability/s. But she never knew much about them since there were only one out of hundred people that had been blessed with Alice.

Mikan not in the very least, have thought of meeting one and to her misery, it was even her captor.

Maybe she wasn't lucky like she thought she was. Nevertheless you couldn't blame her for saying the next set of words.

"Is that all? Fire?" she contrived a scoff, pretending yet again that she was not intimidated. "Well here's for you to envy; I know Taekwondo, Karate, Judo, Boxing and anything that concerns with martial arts." A lie of course but Natsume needed not to know that. And Natsume needn't not to ask to know she was lying. She was a bad fibber.

She inched farther in case he intended to burn her hair again for her next set of words. "Nevertheless I give you credit. Your power suits you well since you're like Satan himself."

He gave her a bland, humorless grin and tried to close the gap between them just to spite her. "You flatter me."

She grinned back with equal blandness although it was hard to when he was sitting way too close for personal air. "Rules of Courtesy say you should flatter back the person who flattered you. Except that I don't need words. _Actions_ would do." she drawled slowly, crinkling her manacles to give him a hint.

His hand moved slowly and Mikan thought that he was going to release her. However he had seized her jaw, vise-grip, this time no more sham grins and he was glaring at her. "Nice try. As price, let me tell you this, you're interesting, but not _that_ interesting. So you can drop your fantasies of earning your freedom by distracting me with your stupid mind-games." His fingers on her jaw seized further, making Mikan yelp in pain. "Understand?"

She averted her eyes in defiance. "No. My IQ is too low for this."

"_Still_. Stop these mind games. My IQ's too damn big for you." Just then he was going to crush her jaw further to get the response he wanted, he became distracted with a voice of a furious male character stumping his way towards them.

Promptly, he withdrew his hand and stood up. He seemed to know what was the entire ruckus about that he directed his glare at the location of the door, grinded his teeth and clenched his fist.

_Alas!_ the door whipped open with an atomic bang, consequently allowing some of the moon's light and there stood a guy, two to three years older than Natsume, glaring equally at him with his heliotropic eyes. He was lean with reasonable posture, his hair looked black that night yet it was in fact, a dark shade of cobalt. There was a star tattooed on his right cheek.

"You!" both of the males raged simultaneously.

"How dare you get your dirty ass back into this ship, _Starfish_!"— Natsume.

"Call me Daredevil, _Dirtbag_. I'm here to kick your much dirtier and stinky ass."— Tsubasa.

Both parties took a fighting pose. Alice-wise, Natsume wouldn't stand a change against Tsubasa Andou's shadow manipulation. More light, more shadows. Tsubasa, on the other hand, hated taking advantage to his opponent's weakness. If they had to beat the crap out of each other, it must be at something they were mutually good at. Simple arbitrary man-pride logic. Hence every time these two brawl, they never use their alice, just their brute strength.

This time however an addition of two characters stepped into fight ring and stopped Natsume and Tsubasa before they could lunge.

"Stop it Tsubasa! He's our captain!" A brunette girl that resembled an older Mikan and who was near Tsubasa's age restrained him with her two arms sandwiching Tsubasa's limbs.

He didn't struggle under her control yet he did retort. "Who cares Misaki?! He doesn't deserve it!"

"No you don't deserve to serve me!" Natsume barked across, also being restrained by another Misaki.

Mikan gave herself a virtual and actual slap across her cheek to do some reality checking.

Another alice-user... Where the hell was she?

Both Misakis sighed miserably. "Okay, what is it this time that you've fought about?"

"He's a thief!" Natsume kept fuming, pointing an accusing finger at Tsubasa.

"Heck. We're all thieves! Pirates to be exact!" Tsubasa pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Yes we are but stealing something from your shipmate, much less than your captain, is a sin!" Natsume retorted evenly, a smug look on his face.

Misaki narrowed her eyes admonishingly at Tsubasa, taking naturally the captain's point. "What did you steal?" the Misaki holding Tsubasa interrogated in an accusing bad-cop manner.

"I didn't steal! I just took back what was rightfully mine!" was Tsubasa's defense. "Dirtbag over there got it illegally!"

Natsume kicked as long and as hard as he could, as if the wind he kicked would create a hurricane and cut Tsubasa. Either that or he was expecting his leg to lengthen suddenly and clout Tsubasa. "Illegally?! I won fair and square!"

Tsubasa imitated his kick. Intentions too. "Yeah? You think I'm an idiot not to notice you picked something not from your deck?"

"Why would I cheat to someone like you?! You're not actually the hard one to beat! That card merely fell of FROM my deck of cards and I used it!"

"No fair! You lying never-do-well loser!"

"Yeah? Well you're no sportsman!"

"Cut it out!" Hotaru monotonously scolded. "Andou, grow up will you? You're twenty-one still you act like a child and fight with this eighteen-year-old idiot." She glanced briefly at Natsume for indication that he was the eighteen-year-old idiot, earning her a snarl. Tch. Like she cared. "Get back to Natsume what he wanted."

Misaki released him, silently giving Hotaru a _Thank You!_ look. If there was anyone in the ship who could control anyone, it was Hotaru. Mikan was immediately in awe of the girl.

With a bitter and angry scowl, Tsubasa fished out of his pocket a Yugi-Oh card. "You want this?" He beckoned at the Blue Eyes White Dragon card. "I rather tear it apart than to give it to you!" he declared then was on the verge of ripping it when he slumped weakened into the ground and began to whimper with no tears involved. "I-I can't! It's too precious! This has rainbow foil coat!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "And the plot thickens." she remarked dryly, as if the whole Yugi-Oh card thing was the story's turning point. "Get over it, dumbass."

"Fine!" Tsubasa snapped, grumpily walking to Natsume, the happy bunny. "Here!"

"Thanks." He grinned patronizingly, making Tsubasa growl but then grinned back after seeing the childishness they made. "I'll make use of this card better than you. Welcome back to the group."

—

"Hey great!" Mikan suddenly interrupted, a little peeved for them having forgotten about her. "What a touching moment, hunh? Why don't you release me first so I can join the group hug?"

Natsume's glare at her told her he was in no mood for her stupid jokes.

"Who is she?" another boy with dirty blonde hair with a seemingly permanent Cheshire cat like grin said. All heads turned in astonishment at the boy. How long has been there, they had no idea.

"Go figure yourself, Koko. You can read minds." Natsume grouched.

Koko kept his grin up. "Why, I'm humbled of your confidence in me!" He bowed at Mikan lowly. "Hello princess, I'm Koko. Nice to meet you... ah, yes, you don't have to say _Nice to meet you too_. I heard you the first time you thought of it."

Mikan widened her eyes at the boy. When Natsume said he could read minds he did not meant literally, didn't he?

"It's actually literally." he answered cheekily her unspoken wonder.

"Oh stop it, you're freaking her out." Yet another character appeared, this time a girl with amazing emerald eyes and frilly hair. With a scrutinizing glare, Sumire, the aforementioned girl, walked around Mikan, arms folded in a forged intimidation. "So you're the princess Ruka-kun told us about?" She raised a brow of concealed insecurity. "Well you don't look like a princess to me."

Koko gave Sumire a teasing nudge on her side. "You're the one who's freaking her out."

Sumire easily dismissed him with a conscious elegant flick of her hand.

"This girl doesn't look special to me. Whatever does Persona want of her?"

Mikan huffed indignantly, glaring at Sumire. "Well I'm sorry for being average, bet you can't stand me. So why don't you do us both a favor and set me free!"

"No shit, _princess_." Natsume eyed her dryly spiting the word 'Princess' as if it was venom.

Mikan mopped silently, tracing the floor pattern. For a moment or two, she reflected how she missed people respecting and being nice to her. This motley crew didn't give a shit of who she was. Was this really what she wanted? Was this what she longed for all her life? Somehow, the answer that was given to her said _No! _'_Hell_ no' even.

—

"She's no alice?" Mikan's ears caught Sumire's conclusion. It seemed that while she was spacing out others were talking about her.

Tsubasa scratched his neck reflectively. "Well Persona's _evil dome_'s more like two weeks away. We should at least make a good use of her."

Natsume nodded stiffly, approaching Mikan and hunkering down her eye-level. "Any talent?"

"Except from the said martial arts no. I think I don't."

"Hobbies?" he ventured.

"Cooking!" a high-pitched Koko responded energetically and avidly. "Mikan-chan can cook!"

All of shock faces turned to Koko then to Mikan. If it was Koko who was talking, then it was quite reliable since he could read minds.

"F-For real?" Misaki couldn't help not to tear. _'Finally someone who can cook!'_

Of course Mikan has a talent but she wasn't well aware of it for the reason that she simply saw it as her hobby. Her personal slave was once a cook and taught Mikan the techniques and recipes she knew of whenever her mother was too busy to care for her. Good thing there was Koko to read her mind and exposed her.

Helping the ones who kidnapped her wasn't on her plan but seeing all those puppy faces save for Natsume (who was good in hiding his emotions) and Hotaru (who didn't have emotions in the first place) were shinning with unspoken hope like Mikan was their savior or something... and all that Mikan could do was to smile sheepishly, earnestly nodded.

Perhaps if she got their trust well enough they could feel confident of her dawdling around without the chains and then she could escape.

Yet another plan she had yet to mess up with.

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** — And that is how you lousily end a chapter. Hope you learn so much from me... Sarcasm aside... Yay! Second chapter finished...! I like the first chapter better than this one though. XD For others who don't recognize Yugi-Oh... seriously, you don't? Or was it just a strange dream I had last night that Yugi-Oh was quite famous? It was even released on _Shonen Jump_. Anyways, go ask your brothers or male colleagues. You could Google it too.

It's review time now. Criticisms are accepted, although I can't say I want to receive them 'coz correction hurts but hey, the pain's good, yeah? It'll do me good... hopefully. XD

Before the curtains close I'd like to thank these following people for their reviews:

QuickStar, rockchic, My Hopeless Romantic, Mistress Symphony, aegyo, KMAC 08, love-love, senhime, dominiqueanne, and rockerfaith.


	3. The Broken Window's Case

**Opening Note(s):** Just an piece of info: the most expensive and lavish cookware of all is copper-made. Don't worry, I'm in no mood (not to mention talent) to turn the fic into a cookbook.

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter III – The Broken Window's Case

—

_Rule 3: Curiosity killed the cat. However, for Mikan's case, it was Catwoman's spirit that possessed her that did the job._

—

—

"What's the magic word?" Natsume more like demanded than ask. He was having his good time spent on staring at the ceiling of his room whilst lying down on his bed, hands leveraging his head.

Mikan curiously followed his lead, inwardly wondering what could be so interesting about his ceiling although saw nothing but the plain, superficial one. Giving up on trying to figure him out, Mikan took her time doing a flashback.

Soon after unearthing Mikan's talent, she was already shoved into the kitchen to do fast dinner. There, almost all the cutlery was made of copper, if it not had been for Mikan's keen eyes, no one would recognize they were from copper. The skillet, crepes pan, fondue, fish poacher and many others looked like they haven't been polished for ages. Either that or the users of those luxurious paraphernalia didn't know what they were doing.

Moving on, she was showed around ship's interior. Not surprisingly, the place where she was earlier chained turned out to be the storage room. She wasn't chained by now, now that the ship was in motion. Underneath the storage area, was a so-called secret channel where you'd end up on a fairly wide corridor— And there, the crew's quarters lay.

Three rooms on the left side, another three on the right and a lone room at the corridor's end— Girls on the left, boys on the right. Mikan made a lousy, predictable joke that the middle one should be for the gay one. Obviously the middle room, as everybody knew, was for someone particular special. Someone who was as special as the ship's captain.

A slave of her fascination, she roamed each of the rooms and cooed at how cool and cute the interior of them. Each of the rooms, much to Mikan's enviousness, had adapted to their respective owners defining characteristic. Every single atom of her room exclaimed posh, liveliness and richness that would put _Titanic_ to endless shame.

Obviously it wasn't because she hadn't experienced richness. Mikan was a princess for goodness sake! It was only that her room back there at Frayland didn't look like it was hers.

She was a princess so she wasn't the one maintaining her room.

She wasn't the one who chose what stuff should go in and what stuff should go out.

She wasn't the one who decided what should her room look like.

It was just another room for her— always like the rest no matter how others enviously ogle at it.

That was why you couldn't blame Mikan for rushing excitedly to Natsume's room, full of expectations and yet was rather stumped at the sight when the two-door oak flap was opened.

Natsume's cabin was rather unlike the others, with only a dim, florescent lamp lighting the room. The ceiling seemed low, the floor polished with layers of dirt and the wall was decorated with spider webs.

It was amazingly inferior compared to the other rooms and Mikan couldn't help not to wonder if she was, by any chance, in a dingy closet or something. She was about to check if she had managed to discover another secret passage but then she saw Natsume passed her with a grumpy bump on shoulder and plopped himself on a rectangular matter that looked remotely like a bed.

Ending her flashback with a sigh, she shot a glance at Natsume who got caught in the act of glancing at her as well. Since there was no point in being sneaky, they continued to stare in silence until Mikan broke it.

"I thought I asked you to show me the toilet?"

He looked away, staring yet again at the ceiling. "I thought I asked you what was the magic word?"

Mikan huffed insolently. If Natsume was referring the word _please_ as the magic word then she rather not. If she gobble up her pride and say it he might just make fun out of her and say 'Wrong. Try again.' She knew he would. He was that kind of person. He liked to ask questions without an actual answer. She could have recited the whole dictionary and he would probably be saying it wasn't the one he was looking for.

Thinking of that, she pried herself for being surprised earlier at the look of his room. It was so like him: Vile and Unfriendly. What was there to expect in his room but this? Flowers, butterflies and angels playing harps? Not likely.

Slightly peeved, she marched out to the room and ventured out for the toilet all by herself—Not noticing Natsume's snort as he shot a look at the door on his left that said: Bathroom.

—

—

"Misaki-san?" Mikan searched the person's face, trying to figure if she was indeed Misaki. She was sitting on the ship's barricade, legs dangerously dangling outward and was staring listlessly on her reflection. But it was only ephemeral soon as she turned to face Mikan.

"Yes?" Misaki smiled wanly. "Need anything?"

"Nothing..." Mikan shifted her foot and began to fiddle her fingers. She had nothing to say actually, she just wanted to see a friendly face.

'_And then what? What should I say?' _Mikan wondered diffidently, staring at her bare feet. Then hazarding a glace over Misaki, she was somewhat rewarded when Misaki beckoned for her to come closer.

And Mikan did, with steady steps, she marched to Misaki, her head hung low.

A soft giggle escaped Misaki. "Don't worry. I won't bite."

"No, it's not like that." Mikan protested, shifting her feet once again.

"You think I'm a snob and ignore you?" Misaki patted Mikan in a friendly manner. "Of course not! Come sit with me, I'm pretty lonely so I need someone to talk with."

Albeit Misaki had said that, Mikan was still left insecure. Misaki didn't talk animatedly with Mikan as she talked with others and Mikan was the newbie to their dark world. Misaki might be having the same thoughts as her for all she knew... She was conscious on what could someone like Mikan thought about a law-breaker such as herself.

Misaki sighed forlornly, aiming Mikan a pained look. "Do you think I'm horrible?"

Mikan almost jumped at her blunt quiz, meeting Misaki's pained look with her nervy one. "O-O-O-Of course not!" She frantically waved her hands as if doing so would improve her conviction.

Misaki smiled blandly. Her pained look was immediately replaced with relief. "Then what are you waiting for?" she admonished good-naturedly, throwing a finger at the empty space beside her. "Sit."

Mikan perked up and bobbed her head eagerly. Soon after, she stanchly plopped herself in the same position as Misaki and said the first thought that crossed her mind to open a conversation. "_Umm_... So how long have you known Natsume?"

"Me?" Misaki pointed a conscious finger on herself, chuckling lightly. It was amazing how she could turn melancholic for a moment then a happy bunny soon as the moment had passed. "I've known Natsume before he knew me."

Ostensibly noticing that there was more that Misaki could say, Mikan nodded urgingly to signal she was still waiting for more. Misaki have kept that story too long to burden and it was now catching up with her. She wanted to tell Mikan. She knew that those innocent and untainted coffee orbs of Mikan were to be trusted. Yet, there was still a nagging voice inside of Misaki that she should not tell all— Specially what happened to Natsume eight years ago.

It was the ship's taboo and she should watch herself not to get too trustful with Mikan.

"It's not because I'm his fangril." Misaki shot Mikan a pointed look, berating her not to think anything improper before Mikan could do. "The Andou or Tsubasa's clan, and Harada— mine, are indebted to Natsume's mother. For that reason, our families are bound to protect them. There was no reason for protection nine years before, as Natsume was leading a quite simple life. Then..." Misaki gulped a lump on her throat whilst Mikan had remained oblivious to the growing strain in Misaki's voice. "Then... days before Natsume's tenth birthday... a tragedy happened and whoala—" She snapped her fingers. "—Tsubasa and I soon found ourselves traveling with Natsume."

Mikan nodded understandably. She was still blissfully unaware of the looming dark cloud above Misaki. Either that or Mikan was doing a rather good job in hiding it. "What about the others?"

Misaki rubbed her sweating palms against her lap, biting her inside cheek. "Koko and Sumire joined four years ago. Hotaru and Ruka came at the same time as us. Ruka and Natsume are best of friends since dinosaur era while Hotaru's a sister of Natsume."

"Sister?" she echoed, cocking her head to a side.

"Half." Misaki clarified readily. "By mother. Needless to say, we have to protect Hotaru too." She sighed like a mother who couldn't make a child eat veggies. "Needless again to say, Hotaru doesn't need our protection. Heck, she's the who does the saving, in fact."

"Hah! I bet Natsume doesn't too."

"You really think so?" Misaki asked in a manner that would make a person think twice. It was like telling Mikan it wasn't so. She shifted her feet to a cross-sitting position, giving Mikan a calculating ogle. She wagered that if Mikan would show a look of enlightenment she would tell her all. She wanted to... But much to her disappointment (and a tinge of relief) Mikan's expression didn't give anything away. Defeated, Misaki broke it and chuckled with melancholy. "Yeah... I wish he could..."

—

—

"Again..." Mikan prompted, drumming her fingers listlessly on the table, her chin leaning against her upturned palm. She was inside the kitchen, sitting alone save for the parrot that was atop her right slumped shoulder. As far as she knew, she never saw the parrot when she gave the ship a survey last night.

Wherever the parrot came from, she knew it wasn't strayed because it spoke human lingo almost fluently. The bird even told her his name was Koi.

"Dress?" it guessed and flapped its wings in a manner that was so irritating, thus forced Mikan to shoo it away. Koi merely landed arrogantly atop the refrigerator like he was not a parrot but rather a big hawk.

Coffee irises narrowed suspiciously at the bird. They had been playing 'What's on My Mind' game and so far, the score was 4-0. Much to Mikan's chagrin, it was in Koi's favor.

She couldn't believe it. She was losing to a freaking bird!

"Nope." She hauled her two fingers in a gloating fashion. A nice façade for a perfect lie. "Two more tries, _birdie_."

"Erk!" Koi protested. "To hell with liars!" it warned, flapping its wings crossly.

"I-I-I-I-I-I do not lie!" she stammered guiltily, feeling utterly pathetic. If ever someone called her birdbrain, she thought she might actually like it. Whoever thought they would be this seeing? Obviously not her. "I want specifics!"

Koi made a distrustful parrotic tweet but then decided to answer anyway. "Panty?"

Mikan's froze, petrified. Then gaining back her composure, she shot Koi a what she thought to be a lethal glare. "Who taught you that?" she chided overdramatically.

Koi wasn't the very least scared. "Master!"

"And who's your perverted master?" she prodded, her eye twitching.

"Natsume-sama!" Koi declared proudly like it was the most obvious knowledge in the world.

"How vile!" Mikan exclaimed in a scandalized manner. Instantaneously, she felt ill at ease and wrapped her arms around her chest. Last night, she slept in the same room with him. What if he did something improper to her while she was in a knockout state?

"Fat chance!" Koi jeered, reading her body language. To Mikan, Koi was being sarcastic.

She impulsively picked up a knife lying perilously atop the table and held it with the blade pointing hellward. Being the smart birdie that he was, Koi sensed danger coming and with a haughty "Erk!" he flew past her, outside the kitchen and finally atop the ship's mast.

"Don't ever come down again!" Mikan hollered, brandishing the knife forebodingly. Satisfied and feeling amazingly in-control, she turned in her heels and marched back into the kitchen.

The disquieting silence that greeted Mikan made her regret from ousting Koi out. No more were Koi's parrotic jargons that filled the emptiness and hollowness of the room. She slumped sullenly on the chair where she had sat before, absently tracing the swirly pattern of the tablecloth.

With nothing left to do, Mikan's eyes trailed to the message on a scrap of paper pinned by a banana-shaped magnetic clip.

_Hello Mikan-chii!_

_We're on a... ahmm... mission... You know the pirating stuff...? Hehe... We'll be back before the sundown. Don't hurt yourself, 'kay?_

_p.s. Natsume wanted to remind you that Hotaru set a barrier so you can't escape. Sorry! :P_

There was no signed name yet Mikan knew it was Misaki who wrote it. The sketchy cartoon version of her with a peace sign gave it away.

The wooden coo-coo clock ticked loudly, trying in vain to fill in the impregnated silence.

"Eleven thirty." Mikan read bleakly and sighed.

Whatever should she do to pass her time?

—

Wiping her sweat with the back of her hand, Mikan was immensely pleased and proud. Within five hours, she turned the dusty old ship into a sparklingly clean one.

According to the grumbles of the maids in Frayland, cleaning was a dull and tedious task. It would be, if they had to do it every single day. However to someone like Mikan who had not the least bit done manual labor, it was all-fun getting dirty and worked-up.

She grinned widely, hungrily taking in a healthy amount of air.

"One more to go!" she declared enthusiastically and hauled up a pail of water and secured it around her fingers like it was a trusty weapon.

In the long corridor of the pirate's quarters, her eyes were simply trained on a room.

The captain's cabin.

Mikan smiled to herself. Maybe if she did a good job in cleaning his room he'd warm more on her? Nah. Quite unlikely. But there was no harm in trying.

Before she could take a good step forward, a swift shadow beat her to it and it also shoved her to a side, causing the pail of slightly muddy water pour unto her. She glowered at the distinguished figure that surely enough busted the central chamber open and locked himself with a bang. Cheesed off like hell, she crammed her lungs with air as a preparation for a long verbal battle, then again someone beat her to it when another swift figure lunged his way to follow Natsume.

"Open the fucking door!" Tsubasa rapped the door incessantly. However he wasn't using his I-want-to-kick-your-butt tone. It was rather an anxious and almost worried call. Misaki, Sumire and Koko also trudged behind him. Ruka and Hotaru were missing.

It wouldn't take a genius to construe something was amiss.

"What's going on?" Mikan followed the crew gathered at Natsume's door. She gave each of them questioning glances yet no one paid attention to her— including Misaki.

"Misaki!" Sumire detained Misaki's shoulders painfully. "Is there anyway to open the door?"

Misaki shook her head contritely, hating the answer she was about to spat out. "Y-You..." She sniffled to let her emotions calm down, "You know once it's locked from the inside, it was impossible to go kaput. Plus, it's alice proof..."

Sumire seemed not to listen anyway like what she posed was a rhetorical one. She paced back and forth, biting her nails. Then eventually, she snapped. "What happened back there? When I checked your posts, Natsume's was like petrified! And you were all looking frantic and followed him!"

For once, Koko wasn't grinning. "It was an Amberian." He ignored Sumire's horrified gasp and reading her mind's in-denial query, he added, "Yes I'm positive— an émigré to be exact. There was a burnt mark caused by steel heat, indicating its prisoner number. Only Amberlane does that." He almost rolled his eyes at Sumire's still in-denial query. "For the love of— I don't know the prisoner's number! I'm not supposed to memorize every feature of the guys we face!"

Sumire whipped around furiously. "Hey! Don't get snappy on me! And stop reading my mind!"

"Stop fighting, you two. We have no time for this." Misaki chided. "We better think of something or—"

"—What if he got so depressed that he tried to kill himself?"

At the mention of 'kill', Mikan had decided she had enough. She couldn't take it more and was convinced that Natsume was an overly disturbed jerk.

Kill himself? What in the nine hells had happened that could provoke him to do that?!

'_He needs a freaking psychologist.'_ Mikan decided half-heartedly. Having that on mind, she wasted no time in trying to squeeze herself through the frantic crew. It was fruitless.

Sometimes the answers to life's complicated questions were simple ones...

She stomped at the rightmost closest room to Natsume's— Ruka's berth. She could have gotten in Hotaru's but she didn't trust what she could do to her if she found out she was inside her room.

Too occupied to follow her, Mikan made her way alone to Ruka's bathroom. She wasted no time in feeling embarrassed and striped off her weighty, wet gown and left with her undergarment dress. Mikan nicked a shampoo bottle off its place, consequently increasing her leverage by clambering up the toilet seat and jumped into the window.

"I am so gonna die..." she whimpered helplessly at the dangerously tricky situation she was in. Thank goodness she had managed to squeeze out of the two-foot square windowpane to the open ocean air. Crouching down, she shakily placed her bare feet for support, her right hand was grabbing the shampoo bottle whilst the left was desperately clutching the window's upper frame.

Every blow of the wind was a curse to Mikan that she wanted to go back to the safety of Ruka's berth. Yet having reminded there was one disturbed freak on the right side of Ruka's window, she had to be stanchy.

No more of this agony, she decided, stretched out her right arm and was thrilled to know it was only an arm span to the other window. The shampoo bottle was being handled like a knife ready to kill and it banged against Natsume's window to create an opening.

"That's for breaking my window..." she humorlessly muttered under her breath, trying to distract herself from the slightly bleeding fist caused by the flight of broken glasses that flew away. She began to rock her body to gain momentum, biting her inside cheek to gauge the distance. Mustering the courage that she merely contrived, Mikan let out a strangled scream when she swung to Natsume's window and straight into the captain's berth.

Natsume was there, his breathing labored and was holding unto the support of the bookshelf where his steamy romance novels laid.

For a moment, he was looking at her blankly then gradually he realized it was the captive. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he challenged without much conviction. His eyes were hooded with something intangible to Mikan. They were burning in a mix of anger and fear but something told Mikan that it wasn't directed at her.

"I— Uh... to save you?" she offered lamely.

Natsume didn't look like a suicidal maniac to her. In fact he looked like a _homicidal_ maniac— out to kill someone that goes in the name of Mikan. Or so she thought.

"How kind." he remarked caustically. "You chose to 'save' me when you know the barrier's momentarily dissolved. Or—" He almost looked callously amused, like a cat that has trapped a mouse. "—Or did you not realize it until now?"

A bolt of realization hit her hard.

She had completely wasted her golden chance to escape and Natsume was making fun out of her so-called kindness.

"Well then," she huffed indignantly. "I see you're pretty okay and thank you very much for the opportunity to escape so..." She readily gripped the upper window frame, indicating that she was going to flee.

Natsume snorted that made her resolute almost insoluble. Almost. Then Natsume's hand had weakened its ties to the bookshelf, fall into the floor and revealed his blood-soaked state.

—

—

**Responses  
**(Most part of this section is not for no-nonsense folks. You've been warned.)

you. got. to. update. fast. if. not. i. am. going. to. stab. you. with. our. kitchen. knife.  
-- animearchitect

(tries not to seem to look around frantically) _Hah!_ You dare threaten me with a kitchen knife! We'll I've got my mom's chopping board as a shield. Then I have a rag of Today's Kitchen microbes so bring it on! XD

You suck!  
-- DarkFlame

Well you suck just as much. Seriously, what is there not to hate about a review that says "You suck!" without elaborating why? When I say criticism, I don't mean anything dumb and utterly boorish like this. Or do you not know what 'Criticism' means?

Criticism – n. the art of evaluating or analyzing with knowledge and propriety the works of art or literature (source: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)

Tell me which part of your review can _art_, _knowledge_ and _propriety_ be seen? Hm? If you don't know then you better back off. I need criticism to influence my writing for the better not idiotic remarks that could possibly be dangerously contagious and thus causes IQ deterioration. My IQ's low enough to go even lower, _thankyouverymuch_!

_**3 + 3 becomes seven - 3.4+3.4 6.8 7. just like how 2+2 can 5! lol  
i feel inferirior to your wider vocabulary! i even had to look a few words up!  
-- Erilin-chan**_

Wow! A fellow math genius like me. XD Yeah, chapter one was my favorite. I love making fun out of Persona. I am so in awe of your honesty about the vocabulary and because of that, here's a confession: Once upon a time, I too had looked up those words on a dictionary. It wasn't like I was born with a lexicon already planted in my brain! ;)

_**what does cervical cancer got to do with anything?  
-- flamer?**_

Oh no, am I supposed to get angry? XD Don't worry. I perfectly understand your confusion. A woman can get cervical cancer if she gets sexually involved below the age of 18. I even remember my Biology teacher opening the topic briefly but my female classmate (we're ϋber in bad terms) kept probing about it instead of simply dropping it off like the rest of us. Of course I smelled something fishy. A month or two after, she was 'preggy'. Mwahaha.

_**so I take it Mikan is still an idiot in this fic?  
grins  
-- QuickStar**_

(grins back tensely) Uh... how do I say this... It depends to a person how he or she sees an idiot so I don't know if I could make her idiotic enough for you... but hmm... I don't know... I can make Mikan idiotic at times but I'm so used of reading InuKag fics (Inuyasha fandom) that sometimes I unpurposely incorporate Mikan with Kagome and Natsume to Inuyasha... do I make sense at all? Oh gawsh! Forget Mikan, I am the idiot. X3

—

—

Criticism is way much different from a flame. And I will be a hypocrite if I say I do not criticize. I do. But I do it in a helpful, _pure-intentioned_, understandable manner. I never said in a review: "It's awful." or "You make me sick!" Without saying _what_ makes the story awful or sickening. Not that I've actually said those horrific sentences. There is no such thing as a no-good story.

I'm sorry but I'm not one of those goody-good-good or cool-headed writers who can tolerate such a thing... I really don't like my co-idiots. As what they say:

_Birds of the same feather, hate each other..._ o.0

Well okay, I made that up but you get the point. X3

Anyways, loads of thanks to:

Magical Goddess Asahina, rockerfaith, QuickStar, LonerMe, RavenHimeSama, flamer?, Mistress Symphony, Rinzii, tina1061, My Feeble Request, StarAngel02, marshmallow-chan35, Erilin-chan, DarkFlame (_with all due aptness and sense of propriety_), animearchitect and alice the dark angel


	4. Before The Bedtime Story

**Opening Note(s):** Those who are wondering or confused about the last chapter, I'm afraid this chappie won't answer a lot. I won't reveal it entirely until... _um_... when the time is right. Do I not sound mysterious now? XD

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter IV – Before The Bedtime Story

—

_Rule 4: Never ask your captor intruding things if you're not prepared for the outburst._

—

—

"Did you try to kill yourself?" A sharp pull of bandage made Natsume hiss in pain, telling him to answer the question truthfully or more of those harsh pulls were to come.

Natsume merely made a snorting sound but he was weakened in his bed-ridden state so he ended up coughing instead. "Don't be silly."

Mikan eyed him severely, holding up the bandage to caution him. "Then why are you all-blooded up?"

He swatted her hand off the bandage and hold up his index finger. "First of all, I'm no masochist or a suicidal maniac as your silly little brain of yours thinks." The index finger poked her forehead and Mikan chafed the sore with a pout. "Second," he turned another finger and yet again tried to poke the same spot on her forehead. This time however, Mikan was fast to have her turn to swat his hand. Natsume simply snorted at her antics, letting his hand lie droopily to his side. "Second," he persisted, stressing more rigidly than the last, "Why did you break my window?"

She smiled in a sickening syrupy way. "You broke my window too, so that makes us even."

"You're not in your stupid castle to lament over your window so how does that make us even?" he challenged monotonously, his eyes hitching a level critically.

Mikan gulped nervously under his scrutiny. He had a point she had to admit. And she felt embarrassed at her blunder. If she hadn't overreact over Sumire's equally overreacted comment of Natsume being suicidal, the window would have been in one piece by now and they weren't slightly shuddering at the mercy of the blunt ocean wind.

He was still conscious when Mikan forgot about the escape and aided him, only weakened by fatigue. Other than that, he was pretty much okay.

Although you have to give credit that if it wasn't for her, Natsume wouldn't be 'saved'. Although again, his dagger wound on his stomach wasn't _that_ serious so it was back again to her breaking the window unnecessarily.

A lump on her throat reprimanded her to say the obligatory magic word. Fiddling over the towel covering her body, she summoned the courage to do it. "Sorry..." she managed to croak out, avoiding his gawp. She wanted to say more than that but she was somewhat waiting for him to say something back at her. He didn't, much to her disappointment.

She sighed... What did she expect from him? An apology back? It was too much for Natsume Hyuuga. To him apology meant yielding. And he simply couldn't.

"You broke my window..." he recurred, this time only it was more like saying to himself.

Mikan huffed, miffed. "Yes I did and if you're expecting me to do my apology again I'll—"

"—But..." He cut her off, nonplussed at himself then locked gazes with Mikan like she had the answer he needed. All he saw was the blank innocent look. Averting his eyes with a derisive snuffle, he stared at his favorite ceiling.

_What is there to expect to this gnat-brained girl?_

"But... what?" Mikan pried, poking his side.

He was silent for a while like he loathed the answer he was about to spit. "But I don't feel angry."

Mikan scratched her nose bridge both musingly and uneasily. "Is that something vital?"

Natsume glowered at her. "Meaning, you can get out of here _alive_."

A nervy sweat suddenly rolled. Did this Natsume actually _kill_ people just because they broke his window?

"Not just window. Anything I own. Anything that could make me angry."

_Great_. He could read minds too.

"Ah... I see!" Mikan laughed gawkily, easing the strain and tension she was currently feeling. "Well that's so lucky of me! Hahaha... Maybe because your wound distracts you?" She patted his stomach flippantly.

Natsume arrogantly made a mental note of her slightly trembling fingers and swatted it dutifully. "Don't act so friendly now. I may not be angry but I'm _annoyed_ at what you did and someday— I swear, if you do anything dippy again I'm gonna get angry and you won't like it, capiche?"

—

Where are Hotaru and Ruka?" Natsume asked Tsubasa in an inconspicuous manner, muttering under his breath and warily keeping a weathereye open on Mikan. She was safely an earshot away with Misaki distracting her.

Tsubasa, who had replaced Mikan's place, sat by a chair next to Natsume. He was being careful not to inch a little more closer to Natsume's face or he'd be damned to be declared a gay. "They're okay. More okay than you, shame." He dodged Natsume's blow with a smirk. "They're at good old Tsubaki. Hotaru said we meet there."

"What?" his tone raised a level higher. Then spoke again in a harsh undertone. "No way! You know that seedy old woman! I had enough of her mad plots!"

"That _seedy_ old woman happens to be my grandmother, thanks very much, although yeah, she's mad... and yes, fine, seedy."

"I wonder if those are hereditary?" Natsume mused mockingly.

"Anyway," Tsubasa gruffly shifted back to the original topic, chagrined. "We should go. It's Hotaru's order."

"I am the captain and my decision overwrites hers." the leader pointed out flatly. He could have folded his hands just to give him an intimidating aura needed to emphasize the point but he was feeling a little weak.

"Only in name." The minion smirked as he poked Natsume's tender spot.

"Fuck you."

Tsubasa waved off his comment lightly like he was immune of it. "Worry not, my dear _friend_, you might actually like _it_ this time." He wiggled his brows mischievously; his eyes flicked at Mikan to give Natsume a hint. This earned an unwanted rough jab on his chin. "You almost made me bite my tongue!" he whined but then he wasn't done teasing his boss. "You knew old Tsubaki likes young girls, yeah?"

Natsume fired him a sickened glare. "You make her sound like an old lesbian pedophile."

He grinned then burst into laughing soon as he saw Natsume offering him a high-five. "Is she not now?"

—

—

Mikan rapped the sliding door incessantly, almost wailing. For the nth time she tried sliding the door but to no avail. _Someone_ very seedy was keeping her inside.

So this was what they had warned her about Tsubasa's grandmother, Tsubaki.

Tsubaki was an old widow running an inn called 'Halcyon Dreams'. It was a family business that Tsubasa would inherit someday. When they arrived to meet her, Tsubaki looked like she was almost kind and amiable. She had fading mauve eyes that would make any person thought that she was a great beauty when she was in her youth albeit the unmistakable aging lines that marred her face indicated the amount of sadness she had most of her life.

It turned out that Tsubaki was the nanny who raised Natsume's mother. A mother whose name was never spoke aloud during Mikan or any stranger was around. Tsubaki had loved Natsume's mother and took care of Natsume only momentarily and occasionally when his father left him to run into some errands.

When both Natsume's parents died, Tsubaki swore she would take care of the orphan.

But now she was old, taking care of Natsume was too much for her. So she resorted to finding the perfect girl for him.

Thus, Natsume's unofficial and unwanted matchmaker.

Every time Natsume came to pop by, she always set him up with girls. Although this time, there was no need to look around for girls when there was someone as available as Mikan (not that she was willing to and not that finding girls who wanted to be set up with Natsume would be tough).

Ergo: The situation. She and Natsume alone.

Not just in any room.

In the baths. At the dressing room.

"You go in first." Natsume commanded bluntly, seemingly unaffected to their situation and unsympathetic to Mikan's distress.

Mikan whipped around him animatedly, giving him a disbelieving gawp. "Aren't you..." she hesitated, her voice cracking.

_What's wrong with you, you weakling! Get a hold of yourself! Stop asking questions and just knock his head off!_

"Aren't you..." she persisted, shoving out her inner voice and jogged her mind for the appropriate word. "Aren't you the least embarrassed? We have to bathe together, you know?" She joined her two index fingers emphasizing 'together'. She _must_ be blushing red now. No. She was _sure_ of it.

"No." he answered without thinking twice. Then a slow malignant leer worked up on his face, pointing a lazy finger on her. "But surely you are."

All the color drained away Mikan's face. She was _absolute_ she didn't have blood left in her head. She had moments to live. But then, as if it would be her famous last words, Mikan gathered her composure and snapped herself.

She straightened up considerably, as if telling her inner mind she could do better without her. "No. Of course not." the words came out surprisingly smooth. She would have given it better justice if she didn't blanch a while ago. But there was no use crying over spilled milk. What matters most was that she ought to gain back her worth. But then, might I ask, how could she do that if she was _shouting_ at him?

"It's just that I don't trust you! I know about the kind of vocabulary you teach Koi and the steamy romance novels you read! You're a pervert!" She hauled up her hand in a stopping motion when she saw Natsume was about to retort. Like when you had enough of your boyfriend's endless medley of lies and deceits to woe you back. "You go in first."

He shrugged it off nonchalantly and much to Mikan's horror, he began shredding off the plain black shirt he wore.

"W-W-W-W-Waittaminute!" She blocked her view of half-naked him and his view of her blush with her two wiggling arms. She was the one who bandaged him a while ago, but that was purely detached and she was concerned more of his wound. The situation now has changed. The weakened patient now looked pretty much like a healthy and _hormonal_ teenager. The courage she had displayed before was crushed easily. "J-J-Just what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to jump to the hot spring, what else? You don't expect me to wear swimming trunks, do you?" he jeered with an evil glint. Knowing that Mikan's watching him from the corner of her eye, he pretended oblivious and started to get rid off his pants—

"Don't!" she warned, her voice wavering. She felt she was going to faint from shame. "Don't ever think of it!" she cried, facing the wall.

Natsume folded his arms jadedly. "I don't have time for this. I need a bath. And you know as hell that you need one too. You stink. So what? Decide. I can come first to the baths and you stay here sucking your thumb or you come first so _I _won't see your flushed, excited and anticipated face of sharing the same bath with me."

The first option sounded promising save for the thumb-sucking part... although Mikan couldn't ignore the challenge on the second one. Or it could only be her. Nevertheless, imagination or not, she would not back down to the dare. She huffed in a self-aggrandizing way and sauntered to another sliding door where the baths were. But then, seeing the wooden indoor hot tub, the shower tap, the stools and the washbowl and realizing she had to strip down as well... Her resolve weakened, her knees quaking.

She turned to him, with a forged sickening sweet smile, her lips quivering as well. "Well why don't you go in first?"

—

—

_Five... five... five..._ Misaki chanted pleadingly, her fingers clasped in a praying fashion and watched hopefully the rolling dices. Then—

"Yay!" Misaki cheered at the four and one displayed by the dices. Meaning it was an answered prayer.

The blue soldier moved among the blocks and stopped unsurprisingly yet delightedly at the jail.

Now out of the three prisoners, _he_ had to choose one...

Misaki gave him a pleading look.

Ruka, the blue soldier, gave her an apologetic one.

Misaki's heart sunk considerably, aiming a look of 'It-is-your-fault' culpable look at the girl across her, the violet soldier.

However, the effort was wasted as Hotaru wasn't the type of person who could feel an emotion as weak as guilt.

Ruka looked abashed. "Sorry... I had to bail her out first or else..."

"It's okay." she assured. Yet though she said that, she couldn't help a frustrated groan and a whine. "Now who's gonna bail me out?" she wondered loudly, with an ulterior move to give everyone a hint.

Usually, when they play Monopoly, Ruka was the one doing the bailing out. It was like he was the generous millionaire who liked to help the less fortunate. Unfortunately, it was different this time. Hotaru, who regularly took the place of the banker, was playing as the violet and amazingly and implausibly, she was losing the game of money. Ergo, she was jailed.

Misaki examined the others. Koko couldn't help her, he was the banker. Sumire... let's just say she was the type of a snooty millionaire, who hated the poor and only use the money for her seducing benefits. Like when Ruka or Natsume was jailed. As for Hotaru... well we all know that all the money belonged to her and to her herself... And that she was jailed along with her.

What an unfair world this monopoly board was...

"Aww... what's with the long face?" Tsubasa, the red soldier, teased her, striking Misaki's orange soldier with his red.

Misaki scratched her cheek crabbily, shoving his red soldier away. "What else do you think? I'm gonna lose the game!"

"Money... money... money..." He smirked at her patronizingly, tsk-ing. "Don't you realize that there are things more important than it?"

"Like what?" she challenged.

"Love!" he declared, making Misaki utterly embarrassed of having a serious talk with a silly guy like him. "I kinda like my place here. You know... in jail... with you... In this dank, dark, kinky place with chains and stuffs..." He winked suggestively at her.

Misaki returned the wink with a disgusted glare. "Don't you realize, that this is just a game? That we're not really inside the jail, _alone_?!"

"Is that disappointment lacing your tone?" he teased.

When Misaki's cheeks colored a bit, he took it as a good sign and started crawling towards her like a cat, ignoring the shrewd smiles of their teammates. Misaki steadily kept away from him, edging slowly until she was cornered into a wall.

A sly smile to Tsubasa's lips and his face was getting alarmingly close to Misaki. Shutting her eyes real hard, she was so alarmed at the warm breath almost at her lips that an impulse came to her and her arm muscles aimed involuntarily Tsubasa's cheek.

Hisses of pain from Tsubasa and sympathetic expectators came and some poorly muffled snickers from the same batch of _sympathetic_ expectators. "What was that for?!" Tsubasa cried in his chagrin, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Reflex!" Misaki retorted flippantly, grinning with relief. She had just escaped the wrath of a pervert but then, the biggest pervert of all wasn't with them and rather with a naïve girl. Having reminded of Mikan's situation, Misaki began to sympathize with her and breathed, "I hope you're fine..."

—

—

"...And then they will starve you, skin you alive until you beg for their mercy to just kill you and end your suffering. But they won't kill you because they want to torture you for your perversity so you'll commit a suicide 'cause you're a suicidal maniac after all and then you'll die but you won't go to hell because you're too vile for them so you'll go to super-hell, the hell under hell!" Mikan threatened in one breath, still stuck in the dressing room with Natsume already enjoying the comforts of the hot waters.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I won't peep?!" Natsume belligerently shot back. "Besides, you're as flat as that door you're leaning on to."

Mikan flushed in fury. "I'm not flat!" Then rounded her mouth when she realized something. "How'd you know I am leaning at the door!"

"Will you stop being suspicious?" he dismissed her professionally, easily dodging out her accusation. "You act like you're the most beautiful girl in the face of the planet."

She froze at his statement, thinking it over. "Okay..." she breathed. Easily persuaded. "I-I-I'm coming in."

In one long-winded, self-conscious motion, she skated the door open and saw a pair of red eyes staring bluntly at her.

And all that Mikan could do was to gawk at him— too stunned to talk.

"Towel?" Natsume broke the silence with a derisive snort then swam to the other end of the pool. "You're being too childish for your own good."

She immediately snapped out at his heckle and resisted the urge to throw a stool at him. "Well thanks to the towel, I escaped being a victim of your perversion! I thought you wouldn't peep!"

He ignored her interrogation with a roll of his eyes. "Do you still have your pigtails when you bath?"

She fiddled with her hairstyle self-consciously then having enough of his jeers, she threw her hands. "None of your business!" she snapped as she opened the shower to clean herself first. Natsume was right, she stunk a lot.

And she was so tired.

The boring day she had thought to be was surprisingly an eventful one.

She cooed when she dipped into the water, bearing in mind to keep a two-meter distance from Natsume.

Nothing to fix her eyes on, she absent-mindedly pored over Natsume. Then, with a bolt of realization, she stroke up a conversation. "Is your wound okay?"

"Perfect." he answered curtly but then he noticed Mikan's disappointed pout that he added quite helpfully, "I heal up easily. It runs in the blood I guess."

Her eyes brightened considerably. They were having a conversation! A fairly decent conversation. "Why? Were your parents like that too?"

He paused awkwardly then scratched his cheek reflectively as if it would prevent Mikan from seeing through him. "Only my father."

"Oh... how about your mother?"

Perhaps he should have let her see through him so she could stop asking question about his parents.

"What about her?" he snapped grouchily.

Was it only her or did Natsume always become too crabby when the topic was about his mother?

"Well... you know, do you have any traits that came from your mother?"

"Why don't you mind your own fucking mother?!"

She gaped at him censoriously. "Hey! Don't 'f-word' my mother!"

"Then stop poking your nose to where it doesn't belong!" he retorted almost heatedly, bashing the water furiously. Mikan wasn't sure but his anger wasn't directed at her, but rather at his mother.

Some place in her heart ached. Her mother and she might not be in good terms, she could say... Yuka might be cold at times, she might have not spent a lot with her, she might have been so strict to her and she might have set her up with O'Hara _but_ Yuka could be so genuinely sweet and caring when she wanted to. And Mikan in no account would hate Yuka.

What could have caused him to _hate_ his mother?

She unconsciously stood up. "What's with your mother that you try to hide?! From what I heard from Tsubaki-san, she was a good woman! This has something to do with what happened eight years ago, hasn't it?"

At that, Natsume instantly froze in his place, subsequently stabbing her with his narrowing eyes that made her almost wince. "Who told you that?" was his demand.

Her throat was instantly parched. "I don't know anything about it... I just heard it... _somewhere_..." _I'm so sorry Misaki-san...!_

"Liar." he indicted but decided not to pursue more. "I had enough of this." he monotonously and callously proclaimed. He stood up while Mikan automatically ducked her head into the water and walked out. When he closed the door, she started to burst into tears. Whether it was for her mother or his mother... or even for himself, he didn't know. Yet, something in his heart tugged at the sound of it.

Leaning against the door, he heaved out a groan and said almost to himself, "Someday... _someday_... I'll really get angry at you..."

—

—

Natsume: What do you mean you can't open? What am I supposed to do here?

Tsubaki: Suck your thumb?

Next chapter will be hypothetically titled: The Bedtime Story. It'll not answer much about Natsume's mother or what happened eight years ago, it'll be about what happened to the encounter with the Amberian émigré.

**Responses:**

**you should write a lemon you know!  
-- animearchitect**

That can be easily arranged! (winks conspiratorially)

'A lemon'

**Hehe, the sarcasm is great!  
-- Orange Sorbet**

Umm... whose sarcasm? The story's? Mine's? Both? Better yet, yours? :P Thanks very much!

**so you really read inuyasha? then why did you write a ga fic then?? baka.  
-- flamer?**

Uh... flamer-san? Why do you always like to take the villain role when it doesn't work? :P  
Hihi. You're actually being amusing, are you aware of that? You're so cute. Anyways to answer your question, here's my question back: Can't I be a fan of both? :)

**I can't promise a review because I have school work... :((  
-- My Feeble Request**

Oh don't sweat on it. School rocks, I do agree. It is one of the few places where you can get both fun and bore at the same time. (And I don't have to say which is the fun part and which is the bore... or am I the only one with lazy bones?) Good luck in school!

**This is such a good story! Love it! Though I can't say that this is the best... yet.  
-- Kurenai Chou**

So'kay. I'm a rather a new writer so I can't count myself being the best. That'll be too arrogant of me. It's enough having known someone loves it. ;)

**Misaki was kinda confusing for me in this chapter, was she PMSing?  
**You're not alone! She confuses me too! I've got to ask her about PMSing when Misaki and I met again, okay? Really, that girl isn't doing her job! :P  
**I love her denseness but then again, you have her caring about him too, though she doesn't really seem to realize that she does... does that make sense?  
-- My Hopeless Romantic  
­**Yes, I perfectly understand you because... you know... Mikan... Natsume... Persona... Misaki... O'Hara... They are a happy family. Does that make sense? But seriously yes I do. I really do! Really! (and thus, Sparkie's version of The Boy Who Cried Wolf) That's what we love about Mikan, yeah? I completely understand you about the cleaning thing. I'm the biggest whiner at home (mom and I often have fights regarding this matter)... Albeit when I was child, I've always like doing the 'adult stuffs' and then it eventually got pretty dull and boring as I grew. Thanks for the ring on spelling BTW. It's kinda hard to see my own mistakes 'coz I'm used to it.

**please make many many Mikan+Natsume moments  
-- QuickStar  
Please put many MxN moments, even if they're fighting, I still love their moments, don't you think so too?  
-- Kurenai Chou**

MikanNatsume moments? Sorry but I think we're having a misunderstanding here. This is a O'HaraxMikan story. O'Hara'll play more role than just a bitter (_bad-mouthing_) mention of his name every damned chapter. I hate Natsume, such a jerk. He doesn't deserve Mikan. Mikan deserves someone like O'Hara 'coz he's the perfect lover! OCxMikan rules!! Then the other sub-pairings are TsubasaMisaki, RukaHotaru, KokoSumire and maybe since I've got a tad of mercy for Natsume, I would give him to either Persona or Koi.

Just messing! O, what? You knew? Damn I need to work on my acting skills...

**And better update quickly cause i have a kitchen knife too!  
-- oceanblue19945**

Hooow-noww!! Please noo! I have twelve kids and twenty-seven husbands and the kids are only beginning to learn to call me mommy and I have a dog and three cats and one of my cats just gave birth to four cute little kittens and the poor mother cat was left with no hubby because the hubby eloped like Mikan and Natsume!! Have mercy!

No deal? (snaps frustratedly) I better get myself a bodyguard then. Any volunteer?

**i can see mikans slightly undressed state as becoming target for natsume's pervertedness!  
-- Erilin-chan**

Natsume: Pervertedness? (eye twitches) Don't look at me. Look at her (points at Sparkie)

Sparkie: o.0 Why me? I only look like a pervert but my thoughts are as pure as a shrine maiden.

Koi: To hell with liars!

Sparkie: (narrows eyes) Quiet, you!

**What's your IQ anyway?! I bet it's 200 coz you're a genius!  
-- Magical Goddess Asahina**

200? Hardly. My IQ is not something I'd like to take a pride on. So sorry, I can only dodge this one. Albeit maybe if you write my IQ really small and ineligibly on a paper, squint your eyes and keep chanting "200... 200..." you could win the bet. n.n

_Virtual Strawberry Shortcake for these people:_

xXRaInBow-ChanXx, Magical Goddess Asahina, Erilin-chan, dominiqueanne, oceanblue19945, StarAngel02, , QuickStar, My Hopeless Romantic, lucia096, Janice, Kurenai Chou, My Feeble Request, flamer?, Orange Sorbet, animearchitect, marshmallow-chan35


	5. The Bedtime Story

**Opening Note(s):** Yes, Tsubaki is the personified version of my sleazy little schemes for the couple. She's on our side. O'Hara, yes, people you can hate him and you can use your hazardous kitchen knifes, daggers, axes et cetera to him— not me because I want to get my first kiss first!!! XD

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter V –The Bedtime Story

—

_Rule 5: When the child is asleep, mom and dad begin the horror._

—

—

It was almost late to be considered a dinner but Tsubaki was always insistent and strict about 'family' eating together. Out of routine, they sat down to their respective places, down the tatami flooring and waited for Mikan to join them to officially commence the dinner. Shortly after, Mikan came, clad in a hibiscus-patterned yukata— the same as what others wore only hers was pink.

Mikan sat at the mat beside Natsume, strategically arranged by Tsubaki.

"Ahem." Tsubaki deliberately cleared her throat that made all of them flinch knowingly save for the newbie Mikan. It was a routine that before eating, Tsubaki got the job of fanning off the dark cloud looming over. And because Tsubaki was all the while eavesdropping to Natsume and Mikan's conversation like a peeping tom, she knew things weren't so well between her 'lab rats'.

Which was, believe it or not, was a good sign.

It was like when you had a disagreement with your friend, you get all-upset while when you had a disagreement with such a nobody, it was like nothing happened. Or for easier and more clichéd analogy, they were like a married couple.

Okay. Maybe Tsubaki was a little too assuming and maybe too romantic but the chemistry between the two was undeniably something refreshing and interesting to watch.

The problem was how to set the mood...

She sighed distressfully. She had to have her kinda evil plots for them on hiatus for now. For now, she needed to push her luck in entertaining the kids.

_Kids these days always like fun. Be a bore and you're considered a grandma..._

Tsubaki took a shaky intake of air and folded her hands neatly atop her lap. "What is a person that isn't a person?" she quizzed and flashed a smile and spared a look to the faces of the youngsters. They look all bland and blank, internally struggling in anticipation of how corny her joke was gonna be. "Well...?"

Everyone shrugged. "You tell us." Tsubasa dutifully uttered in a bored manner, wanting to start eating the dinner.

She snapped her fingers in triumph. Consecutively, a smug smile came to celebrate her too-assumed-a-victory and rolling her eyes in attempt to suspense. "...Persona!"

_Dead Silence._

"Oh! I know!" Mikan suddenly piped up, who was all the while in deep thought and knocked her fist against her palm and give each one a gloating look like she was a genius for being the only one able to know the answer of the answered riddle. "A monkey?"

_Crickets chirped._

—

—

The dinner was the most awkward event of her life.

Not because of her stupid out-of-the-blue attempt to answer the conundrum but because all the while, she was sitting beside _him_.

Him— as in the grumpy, grouchy, grimy abductor of hers— Natsume.

If she was a normal abductee, she, should have constantly kept her mouth shut and kept her comments to herself. She shouldn't pry to the matters that didn't concern her and most especially, she shouldn't act too close to him like they were some sort of friends.

However she wasn't a normal abductee and he wasn't a normal abductor.

Apart from preventing her to escape, he was a pretty lenient and offhanded one as if he really didn't care if she escaped or not. It was like he was keeping her in for the sake of _attempting_ to keep her in only because that was what a guy like him should do.

He talked to her 'normally'— In his own definition of 'normal'. He was rude, yes, but he never laid a hand on her, even when she broke his window.

He didn't let her starve to death or give her some bland or weird tasting food.

He let her 'mingle' with the group.

He let her sleep on the sweet, sweet mattresses she was currently lying down rather than tying all her limbs and gaggling her with a handkerchief cruelly stuffed inside her mouth.

He was so 'nice' considering him being the 'bad guy'. That was why she was utterly troubled and guilt-filled when he turned cold to her and avoided her like she was the bad one.

Usually, when they had an argument, it would only take a moment or two to turn their pretend-hostile drama back to normal. But now...

Mikan tossed over her side, utterly restless.

She wasn't new to people suddenly turning cold to her much less than an understandable and unsudden one.

No. Being ignored and neglected wasn't new to her.

Still it bothered her— Him ignoring her. For her sixteen years of spending with the Ice Queen, Yuka, Mikan had cogitated that since her mother has a soft side shown especially for her, she had romanticized, she was reluctant to admit, that Natsume would warm up with her. Not that anyone could blame her. He was a staggeringly handsome boy and at the first few seconds of seeing his face for the first time, she was attracted to him.

Him kidnapping her strengthened his charm on her too. He was like a prince that was willing to come down from the degrading chimney just to save her from her imprisonment. So the part of her saying she wasn't fantasizing to elope with him was a lie.

But then he _had_ to open again his foul mouth—

—And all went back to square one.

Back to when she thought he was an annoying trespasser.

Typically, when she was on her bed and mussing, she used to side-lie to stare and listen listlessly at the musical jewelry box her father had given her when she turned five. But now that there wasn't the jewelry box to aid her musing, she stared at the ceiling. Involuntarily and reluctantly, she was aware that she had caught Natsume's habit.

Great... he was influencing her too. And she spent what? One day with him? What could happen in two? Three? Seven days? She, reading steamy romance novels?

She snorted at the thought. So unimaginable. She might not be as delicate and graceful as a standard, typical princess but she was raised and grew respectable enough.

But then his image of his cloudy, misty and so-near-yet-so-far red eyes couldn't get out her mind. She was no mind-reader like Koko yet she knew he was annoyed at the topic of his mother.

She felt guilt wallowing her up. She felt it was her fault for bringing back the 'hatred' his mother. If he had been angry at her, she wouldn't have mind much at all.

She felt she destroyed the serenity of his mother's dead soul.

_Maybe I should apologize to him?_

A plausible thought. Albeit easier said than done.

_Or maybe I should apologize to his mother?_

She sighed.

_Really_. She had to stop trying to change a cold-person's heart. It _wasn't_ her forte.

—

With an undecided sigh, Mikan raised a hand to gesture a knock. A minute ago she was thinking of reasons what was so aggravating about her captor and how he so did not deserve her apology. A second later, she was pacing back and forth at his doorpost and thinking of various of reasons why he should forgive her.

She dropped her hand for the umpteenth time, partly because it was getting numb for hanging on air far too long, partly because she didn't know if she _should_ knock on a sliding door and partly because she was still not finished with her lists of reasons.

She sulked miserably, she couldn't get a single reason of why he should forgive her. He didn't say anything about him being angry at her. Yet, her conscience constantly nagged her that she did something wrong. Or something off. Or maybe she _pointed out_ something wrong and he just didn't like feeling exposed.

Half-heartedly giving up on Natsume-Psychology, she crouched down facing his door, her forehead resting atop her knees and her two hands were having a fistful of her messy, tangled copper locks.

Suddenly the door made a sliding sound, surprising Mikan and catching her off-guarded as she stumbled shamefully at the floor.

Lo and behold, it was Natsume in his gray yukata, an apple stuck and hung between his teeth and another unbitten apple on his left hand. His eyes were focused straight ahead like he had a destination on mind but then it caught a sight of a pink lump, half a meter away from his feet. Immediately he recognized the lump and there were mild shock and nonplussed expression that crossed his face albeit it was gone way too fast that Mikan thought she was imagining things again.

They stared at each other in silence, beat by beat, with Mikan shamefully dropping her jaw whilst Natsume's jaw firmly holding into the apple.

It was Natsume who could be trusted for recovering so quickly. He took out the apple by piercing off the bite and munched and gulped it in seconds. "You look pathetic." He deadpanned her, earning him a preposterous glare from her.

"Well!" she huffed indignantly, snapping out of her silly state. She straightened herself to a respectable height and posture to try and match his cool, unruffled and breezy presence.

It was all a worthless struggle when her throat went dry and unknowingly and unwittingly, her gaze began to settle to the delicious redness of the unbitten apple. Have I mentioned she didn't get enough mouth chows, blame for the known quandary?

Her ogle was hard to miss. Knowing that, Natsume shifted his weight on his right foot, taking a bite on Mikan's prospective apple and made sure he chewed it well enough to emphasize the crunch.

_The selfish jerk!_ Mikan thought vindictively, glaring daggers at Natsume.

"So what brings you here?" His tone was nonchalant but with a trifle of reluctance to talk to her lacing with it.

The inquiry made Mikan remember her dilemma and she somber up immediately. "Umm..." Mikan tried to fill the awkward silence with her awkward stall. She began to fiddle over the folds of her yukata and avoided his reading, piercing eyes.

Too late now. "Oh I know," Natsume grinned lopsidedly, the reluctance gone and ousted out by his teasing, arrogant passion. He got this strange overwhelming feeling of relief now that he found himself talking with her indifferently. It was like his most dreaded discussion of his mother didn't occur. "You came here to apologize."

"Not!" she snapped too quickly. Unfortunately her brain wasn't so fast as her mouth that it was left hanging open to think of something to support her lie. "Why would I apologize to you?! You F-Word my mother!" She folded her arms with a stiff nod, gaining confidence and laid out her palm as if to beg for charity. "I'm here to demand your apology."

He let out a caustic wry chuckle as of to say _Dream on!_ "You might as well try to make a blood bleed."

She kept her head stuck high up and poked her laid-out hand several times, not giving up. "I'm taking my chances since I want to see your downfall." She stared at him evenly.

He smirked at her in a condensing manner and formed his point finger and thumb a 'C' as if describing a trifling thing. "Maybe if you dream a little harder."

"Wow." She contrived a mock _Gee... Thanks a lot, that helps!_ look. "I better go back to bed then, if that's the case." She sounded so confident when she said that and she was proud of it because internally, she was distressed of thinking of comebacks to that foul mouth of his.

She gave him one last overall look before she turned her heel and marched to her room. Muttering something that goes like him being so impossible and praying he wouldn't say anything spiffy again.

"Backing down already?" he called out, a smug look on his face.

"Yeah." she admitted bluntly although not surrendering. She turned her body slightly to his direction. "This corridor suffocates me." She tried to shrug lightly but it came stiff. "I guess it's too small to handle me and your humongous ego."

He hauled up a finger. At first she thought it was a gesture of objection but when the arrogant look on his face didn't disappear, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And my sex appeal." he added haughtily, taking another bite on one of his apples.

If anything, Mikan tried to pinch her side to prevent a laugh. "That one," she masked her humored smile into a sickening mocking sweet one, "Just found its place right down my foot."

His expression rutted a bit but he thought of something spiffy that it immediately washed out. "How sweet. Try not to lick it when I'm out of sight."

She smiled as she opened her door. Then grinned. Then she couldn't hold it longer that she gave a full-blast laughter. It wasn't the wry kind of laugh. It was a kind of a hearty and good-natured laughter and Mikan couldn't remember when was the last time she laughed this hard. This might have been the first to have a conversation with him that she enjoyed. They bantered, yes, but only now did she noticed that it was a healthy one and that it was fun. Inwardly, she was slightly hopeful he enjoyed it too. When she slide the door to a close, she knew that even they didn't exchange apologies, they were back to being civil.

She froze midway to her bed as a sudden realization hit her. Or even more than being civil.

_Maybe..._ She smiled happily and threw herself down the sweet, sweet mattresses. Maybe close to being a friend.

As for Natsume's point of view, he was just thankful that he was Mikan at his door. She saved him the trouble and shame of doing _something_ not his forte.

After all, it wasn't mere coincidence that he opened the door with _two_ apples at hand.

—

—

Natsume was beginning to get cheesed off.

When he entered their secret rendezvous, all of his teammates and Tsubaki had the I-know-what-you-did grins and faces (save for Sumire who was sulking miserably).

"Are you done staring?" he snapped at them, daring to say something he wouldn't like.

Tsubaki cleared her throat and all else followed with faint coughs. "So," Tsubaki smiled goofily, much to Natsume's annoyance. When would they start to take him seriously? How come other people treat him with admiration and his so-called friends treat him with insolence? "What's this all about?"

Finally. All were beginning to somber up and Ruka was the one to be trusted to being reliable. "Koi had just gotten back from information gathering. Our hunches are correct, the émigré was sent by Persona."

Dark murmurs and silent oaths were heard. "What exactly is Persona trying to achieve by that? I doubt if he thought he could kill you, that easily Natsume." Misaki wondered a loud and all other else save for the three core members nodded in support.

"He's trying to send a message to GPU." Ruka answered helpfully with a sheepish smile. He was smoothing Koi's feathers as he was only sitting on the oak table they were gathered and Koi _Eark!_ in approval.

"Hang on." Tsubasa waved a hand to get everybody's attention. "What's GPU?"

They all gave him a sickened look that translated to: Are you for real?!

Tsubasa raised his hands defensively. "I thought we were working for WPO? Or did you guys sign up for another org?" Their looks didn't change if not worsened. "What did I say wrong again?!"

Misaki sighed pretty much like an exasperated babysitter tired of a child's questions. "For civilians, it's WPO. But we all knew it's only a euphemism to what the true name of the organization is. Thus, we insiders, call it GPU."

"Hey!" Tsubasa sounded genuinely offended and hurt. "How come you never told me about this?"

Koko decided to chirp in, having read Tsubasa's thoughts more than what he was saying. "No one told us. We just knew and we thought _you_ knew it too." He grinned a broad grin.

Tsubasa flushed in embarrassment, trying to laugh out of it. "Nah. Just humoring you guys."

"Anyway." Sumire cut in crustily and at the same time helpfully to save the topic from being murdered away by Tsubasa. "Does that mean that Persona knows we're working under GPU?"

Natsume frowned thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling in the process. "I doubt. Although I think he has a clue. I hate to add this but he's moving fast."

"What did the superiors say?"

Hotaru looked vexed at the mention of it and glared spitefully at Natsume like it was his entire fault. "They're gonna increase the 'tax' of our loots from our town and boat turf."

They all grunted disapprovingly like doing so would lessen the tax. "By how much?"

"Ten percent."

Another round of grunts.

"Greedy bastards..." Natsume muttered darkly and since their leader had started to use vulgar language bluntly, everyone else (excluding Ruka who didn't use foul language) followed suit not occurring to them that Tsubaki was around. Well, Tsubaki wasn't in the mood to scold them anyway. She was too happy a bunny about the progress of her lab rats.

"Is twenty-five tax not enough? Jeez! We need to do more town or boat turfs now!"

Koko gave Sumire a reprimanding look. Albeit it didn't seem one as Koko was grinning. "You know we can't. We can only burgle the ones approved by GPU and Persona— _youch_!"

"I know!" Sumire grouched, tucking her right leg innocently behind her and pretending it has nothing to do with Koko's howl. "I was merely expressing my distaste!"

"I hate WP— GPU! When will be free of them?!"

Natsume deadpanned Tsubasa. "GPU hates us just as much but we need one another to bring down Persona. The gay bastard's beginning to scare GPU's superiors specially when they heard he asked us to kidnap the princess."

Misaki perked up at the mention of Mikan. She was waiting for this time to ask Natsume about this. "Speaking of which, what are you planning to do with Mikan? Are we gonna hand her over to Persona?" There was an unmistakable concern and nervousness in her tone.

Natsume hesitated to answer for a moment or two. "GPU wants us to keep her save but we need to do some research about the girl first. We don't know Persona's motives on her."

"Could we not ask GPU about this?" Misaki pressed.

"GPU are selfish jerks. They take, not give. So we have to keep the girl both out of Persona's and GPU's grasps."

"Oooh." Tsubasa grinned goofily like he had recently discovered a dark illicit secret. "Natsume here's starting to get a soft spot for our cute little captive!" Tsubasa sing-songed, hitting Natsume's shoulder teasingly.

That entirely twisted the mood and they started to tease their captain. A few moments later, the simple conversation led to a more far-fetched topic.

"So," Tsubasa smiled breezily, acting like a class-election's floor leader. "Big or small wedding?"

That did it. "Andou?" It was Natsume, who was all the while silent and trying to seem indifferent to Tsubasa's jokes.

"Yes?" Tsubasa's grin was still on, not knowing it would end up too soon.

"Open or close casket?"

—

—

**Responses:**

**How many chapters are you aiming?  
-- Snow Sparkle**

Yes. I'm a very, very, sad person that I resorted to this (I didn't _actually_ review myself though— that would be me being very, very, _very_ sad if that was the case). To euphemize, you can call it, the Author's Note... which is somewhat legal.

Answer: I'm aiming for fifteen chappies. I don't want to make it long.

**can't wait for the lemons! are they in the next chap?  
-- Celine's Imagination**

o.0 Are you serious?! Haha. Omg. This section is mainly composed of baloneys so the respond on lemon was a lark (remember my response animearchitect? I only made fun out of it... it's not too obvious though. I knew it. I should have placed "XD" after it.) Or was this also only out of humor? If it is, you're very funny. :))

I read lemons. But. I don't write them because... I just don't... (scratches neck thoughtfully) I can't seem to think any profound reason... So for those who are confused for finding a rated-T story discussing lemons, my dear apologies! XD

This is rated-T because I can't watch Natsume's mouth and thoughts. (Sighs) He's so uncontrollable.

**And Mikan stood up in the water!!  
**But thanks to the towel, Natsume saw nothing. We'll save the _better_ parts after they got married. Oh, before this reply again will be misconstrued again, the wedding will be _after_ the fic's finish. And I'm not gonna write a sequel. :D**  
I was kinda confused to why she cried though, since she was the one sounding defensive and oh well. Females and their sensitivity. I cry about the lamest things so whatever.  
-- My Hopeless Romantic  
**(Sighs distressfully) Someone _did_ notice... or maybe others did too but they didn't tell me. Like I said last chapter, I was having a writer's block so my thoughts were so muddled. Sorry! :P I've edited that part to re-set the mood but I'm a little iffy about it so I might just edit it again. :)

**But the teacher gave us a pile of homework in exchange for the cancelled Saturday class. :(  
**Saturday classes are no fun... XD When my family got to go out— malling/eating/movies per se— I was left in the tormenting, torturing school and well... not living my life out... Thank God I don't have any Saturday classes now... I remember coming home late on a Saturday night and my brother said: "Hey! Spiderman was good!" I did an extremely loud show of distaste after that. XD  
**I saw one (just one little :D) mistake. Or it's just me and my spelling. Bath or bathe? Not sure. Teach me please... :D  
**I don't know either! Is there any difference? XD I don't have pet peeves about grammar and spelling... for me they're just trivial matters that can be easily arranged but I try to watch out for them. So... you teach me! :D  
**OK, another thing is that your story just taught me how to spell 'capiche'!  
-- My Feeble Request  
**Don't count me on that. Like I said I don't really care much about it. XD But anyways, nice to help you in some way. And thanks for compliments. :D

**Ok, so one reviewer has a kitchen Knife, I have an axe so you'd better start writing the next chapter kay?  
**You have an axe? I have a gun. ;)  
**thanks for the strawberry shortcake, though I don't eat one.  
-- Rainbow-Chan  
**Why?! It's delicious! Oh well... how about virtual money so you can buy whatever you want?

**how can you tell me i'm cute! you haven't seen me yet! :P  
**Are you sure now? I'm a stalker type you know. I can even see you right now, reading this message in front of your computer...  
**fine, no more evil role. you know, you are very smart. your comebacks are so profound. just how do you do that? do you mull over it for days? or it is only natural for you?  
-- flamer?  
**I mull over it for days and days and days and even more days. Like this reply. Did you know that this was the reason of my late update? XD But seriously, as flattering as it is, I'm really uncomfortable of me talking about the workings of my head... It seems so... awkward and weird! I only try to be funny not smart or even rude for that matter. The flattery was nice anyway I could rather indulge in it for a while. :)

**the last chapter was a bit... ugh boring?  
**_Youchie_. Haha. It has its moments. At least I've atoned because you like the chapter after it, yeah? :) I hope this chappie didn't bore you...  
**its like modern and the 20ieth century had collided somehow!  
-- rockerfaith  
**Oh yeah. This is a mix of modern and er... olden days. Finally someone noticed! XD

**I have to admit too that I'm disappointed that this isn't a Mikan x Natsume story.  
-- Orange Sorbet**

o.0 You didn't finish the whole statement of mine, did you? I was only messing! Or were you messing with me too? X3

Fine. With all seriousness, this is a NatsumeMikan story. Natsume'll play more role than just a bitter (_bad-mouthing_) mention of his pervertedness, angsts and PMSing every damned chapter. I hate O'Hara, he's such a pedophilic, stuck-up jerk. He doesn't deserve Mikan. Mikan deserve someone like Natsume 'coz he's the perfect lover! NatsumeMikan rules!!! Then the other parings are blah... blah... blah... (you already know who) and maybe since I've got a tad of mercy for O'Hara, I'll give him to either Persona (since his sex slave escaped... poor Persie) or Koi.

Are we all happy bunnies now? :)

**whoa. u have pretty good acting actually. I actually thought it was gonna be an OCxMikan story!  
-- xXbunnyholicXx  
HAHAHA! You don't have to work on your acting skills. I really thought that it's not MxN moments!  
-- Kurenai Chou**

I guess so... (points guiltily upwards) :D

**can we be friends? what's your name?  
-- animearchitect**

Sure thingy! My name's Angel. But my mother calls me Nikkie, dad calls me Samantha, friends call me Meg, best friend calls me Hey!, and you can call me Paris Hilton... No wait. Don't. X3

_Lots of love and thanks to the people reading my story!!! I may not have responded to you all but your inputs are well appreciated! Your reviews are my fetish! I even go netting every five minutes to check for new mails... or sometimes hitting my mail's refresh button gazillion times just to check if something's up! But I know all authors do that... do they? Anyways I'm so happy that even that I'm new here, I'm not ignored! Don't be shy or reluctant to correct me and I shut up now because my AN's so damned long it might be boring you guys. Major glomp to all of you:_

DAMSELinDISTRESS12, animearchitect, xXStarryangelzXx, Orange Sorbet, rockerfaith, flamer, Mistress Symphony, -kradraven-, Magical Goddess Asahina, Rainbow-Chan, My Feeble Request, My Hopeless Romantic, akerue, Kurenai Chou, QuickStar, xXbunnyholicXx, StarAngel02, dominiqueanne, Celine's Imagination, Erilin-chan


	6. Because We're Strangers

**Opening Note(s):** This one's more somber than the last but it's essential so if I may suggest, keep a good eye on this one and perhaps you could play the _Pink Panther_ theme to do the background music. XD

**Disclaimer:** I am not a member of our school paper and never would inspire to be one. With this said, I would like to add that I have never wrote a news article in my life and I honestly swear that I rarely watch or listen news. So bear with me. And oh, I am not the creator of Pink Panther and the theme music. I can't even read notes. Shame on me.

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter VI – Because We're Strangers

—

_Rule 6: When words aren't enough, sometimes all you need to do is shut up and trust._

—

—

Once upon a time, women weren't allowed to talk or voice out their opinions. Women were only to stay at home doing household chores and were only to talk if they were spoken to and then back to the tight-lipped, shy and reluctant so-called members of the society. Luckily, some self-proclaimed Supermen (who could possibly be covert homosexuals) gripped for gender equality and now, all women _wouldn't_ stop talking!

This was Natsume's dilemma.

It has been almost two weeks that they've been staying at Tsubaki and he hated it. Tsubaki was preventing him from doing town and boat turfs. Two freaking weeks of idleness! Not only that, he was stuck with this blabbermouth who was acting in a way too friendly.

She had been like that since the second day of stay at Tsubaki's. Because Misaki was busy by Tsubasa's flirtatious antics, she was left with no company. That was when she spotted him all by himself and then _poof!_ she followed him everywhere, kept chatting and kept poking her nose to where it didn't belong.

Snapping another forehead vein, Natsume lobbed the television's remote control half-furiously down the couch where he was sitting and glared his best at the still chatting girl at the other end of the couch.

It took a lot of effort not to grit his teeth and he did albeit his right eye was twitching. "Hey twit."

The said 'twit' abruptly bunged her jabber, scandalously rounded her mouth and looked terribly offended. She huffed indignantly, propped a hand on her waist and a pointy finger on him. "Don't call me twit!"

He ignored her gripe and resisted the urge to jab her back with a finger. "Can you please do me a favor and shut up?! I'm watching news damn it! I can't understand with that off-putting croaky voice of yours!"

She opened her mouth to retort, then deciding she had not thought of a comeback, she clamped it back and gruffly folded her arms, silently moping and huffing whilst she glared at the television.

"Good." he remarked callously, blasting the television in full-volume whilst Mikan defensively flung her hands over her ears.

At grounded times like this, Natsume was left with no choice but to rely on the _un_reliable news.

He knew news broadcasts were controlled by GPU. The public thought they were being enlightened but Natsume knew better that they were being sucked into the oblivion of cons and was being brainwashed.

Literally brainwashed.

As if his thoughts were read and like it felt a need to show how come brainwashed, a prune-eyed guy with rust-colored hair and dressed prudishly came into the television screen and flushed his signature matinée idol-ish smile.

"What a fine-looking man and he seem _very nice_!" Mikan felt the need to remark in a sing-song tone, emphasizing the 'very nice' part clearly in hopes that Natsume would find the travesty thrown at him. She then muttered in a harsh undertone, "Unlike some that I know."

Natsume snorted in distain distractedly. "Your taste is so sad." He mock-pouted his voice.

Mikan harrumphed as she looked away to hide away the traitorous smile that threatened to come up her face. It had been happening often. It was like every thing he said appealed funny to her. "You're just jealous."

He was so not guilty. "Keep dreaming harder, twit. It might work someday." Then his eyes were back on the screen.

Back to Reo Mouri— The top and the 'most credible' of all media people. Every time he talked, every one listened and every one _believed_ him.

_Pfft._

Of course they would.

He had the stupid voice pheromone alice that could brainwash people— people of lower alice rank than he was, of course. And his alice rank was none-too-superb. It ranged around Rank B and Rank C, being S as the premier and F for the zeroes or the common, non-alice user. Natsume wasn't sure what was his alice rank but he knew it was higher than Reo because his stupid alice of his didn't work on him.

GPU's superiors were severely wise men. They knew how to do their stuff. They knew that the best way to deal— no— _manipulate_ the world was not by trying to get as much influential and powerful personalities as possible but by getting the unknown albeit numerous nobodies. Besides, getting the influentials into their army would be like inviting in mutiny and/or lesser amount of shares.

"We are now on our World Patrol News." He paused briefly to make way of the section's logo. "Ironically in Wintergall, the police was said to have found illegal shipments that were said to come from Amberlane. The shipments, staggeringly contained around fifty dead bodies."

Sakura Nakamura, Reo's co-reporter butt-in amiably, almost like rehearsed. It was always like that. Sakura would always have to do a question and answer portion. It was the show's covert way to express their opinions. Shamelessly turning the news into a showbiz gossip program. "How come ironic?"

"Well ignoring the fact that it came from Amberlane, these bodies had their skins parched and coppered and it was like someone aflamed their bodies from the inside and we know how cold Wintergall is." Pictures of the dead bodies lying on open snow were shown although most parts were censored. Well at least they have a sense of propriety...

Sakura gasped in horror and terribly shook her head as so did Mikan with an additional shudder. "That's too inhuman..."

"I know." Reo nodded in concurrence and albeit he said that, his face held no commiseration. "Further police investigations say that these people were Amberian convicts. The burnt prisoner number marks on their right upper arm are the proof. And as if it wasn't enough, they have these long single cut in their sides. Autopsy says they got it after they died. Whatever are those cuts for, we still don't know."

Sakura shook again her head miserably. "Even they were convicts... who deserves this kind of treatment?"

A soft albeit firm tuck on Natsume's sleeve took his eyes off the screen to Mikan's scared eyes. Instantly, he was aware she was clinging for her dear life on his arms. For a moment he thought she looked kinda cute but then he immediately shunned those thoughts away. Furiously. "What?" he demanded crustily, avoiding meeting her big, rounded eyes.

If anything, Mikan latched further. "Let's watch something different... this news scares me...!"

He released his sleeve from her grasp. "Don't be stupid. If you don't want to watch then sod off."

"Looks like King Ryukan of Amberlane still hasn't got the hang of ruling though he's been in that position for eight years." And looks like the topic of the dead bodies wasn't over.

Sakura nodded firmly in agreement and in retrospection she hold out a finger. "Now that you mentioned it, wasn't eight years ago, a big scandal happened because—"

_Zwipp._

"Hey!" Mikan tried to gripe. Just when the news was starting to get a little lighter and _interesting_ to her perception he turned it off! She was about to gripe further and to snatch the control but then she noticed his almost unnoticeable erratic breathing and _the_ eyes.

It was those blurry, anxious and unfocused eyes. It could only mean one thing as his eyes were always like that every time the topic of his mother and eight years ago was talked about.

Obviously, he didn't want her to get an iota of an idea what was eight years ago all about. Either that or he didn't want to be reminded of the incident.

Awkward silence began to envelope them and she widened the gap between them. Then it just happened. The decision was instant and her eyes went resolute. If no one was gonna tell her, she would have to find it out herself.

—

Tsubaki craned her neck from the stove where she was cooking their lunch to Mikan who was setting the table. "History books?" she echoed, her forehead creased in utter bewilderment.

Mikan tried to shrug lightly in hopes that Tsubaki would merely see her objective as a curious one. "Yeah. You know, reading materials?"

Tsubaki frowned thoughtfully but shook her head afterwards. "I'm afraid I don't read them, dear. My eyes are too blurry to read those small fonts."

"Do you know where I could get one?" Mikan pressed eagerly.

Half-suspicious eyes trained on Mikan. Mikan didn't certainly strike Tsubaki as a type fond of books. _History_ books moreover. "What for?"

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing!" She frantically waved her hands to dispel the topic and laughed gawkily. When she couldn't forge laughter anymore, she let out a sigh of frustration.

Tsubaki smiled. If Mikan wanted to read books so badly, who was she to stop her? "There's a small library around the vill—"

"Where?" Mikan cut in excitedly, momentarily forgetting she was carrying fragile chinas and her eyes sparkled graspingly.

—

—

The library stood in the cemented tarmac in its two-story height. It was midget and gaunt. It looked malnourished. Beside the library was the village hall whose lot was five times bigger than the library. Obviously, the governor of the village cared little for books.

When Mikan opened the door, a loud rap music boomed into her unprepared eardrums. The library was dark which was obviously not a good place for reading. Fortunately it was afternoon so Mikan could make out a figure behind the librarian's desk. It was a he and he looked so far from prim. His hair was unkempt and his clothes looked like he hadn't changed it for a week. He was rocking the wooden chair and rhythmically drumming the desk upon the beat. When he noticed a pair of coffee eyes ogling him, he momentarily stopped the drumming and returned her ogle. Minus the bother of turning the music down.

He grinned at her languidly, cradling his chin with his upturned palm. "Sorry, _love_. We don't do laundries on Saturdays." His tone was childish, a little pipey and from the looks of it, he expected her to leave as soon as possible.

Mikan narrowed her eyes at the obviously uncouth lad. Now she understood the elder's feelings when they see her act so un-princess like.

"I'm not here to do you my laundry." she said pointedly, folding her arms on what she thought was in a daunting manner. "I'm here to read books."

He hummed noncommittally and beckoned her to come closer. Which Mikan did. "You're new here, ain't ya?"

To Mikan, he seemed like he was hitting on her and if he was a little... hygienic, she would've been flattered. "What is it to you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just curious. People here don't read books 'nymore. They wanna slave all day. But meh, I'm different."

Mikan gave him a disgruntled look that translated to: Obviously!

Unfortunately, he was immune to it. "You're the second visitor t'day and the second visitor for umm..." He paused to reckon the amount of time passed and turning out a finger per number. "Seven months...?"

She gaped at him. "For real?"

He winked. "For real. I reckon the last time was because WPO's representatives came here to celebrate Book Month."

"I see..." she drawled slowly, processing the information in case she might use it in the future.

"Ya can check out all the books ya want. It's your choice if ya wanna return 'em. No one'll notice and care 'nyway."

She tried not to gape foolishly again but not before muttering, "Weird guy..."

He snickered scornfully, obviously finding some private joke in her statement. "The other guy said that too. Weird is good, yeah?"

She clung her head to a side. "Other guy?"

"The guy who came before ya." he provided helpfully. "But he's a bastard. I hate his guts."

Somehow, she became interested who was the guy. Narrowing her eyes to discern his candor and to tell him not to lie, she asked, "What does he look like?"

"Ugly!" was his immediate response. He had waited for a long time to express his distaste. "I hate him! He thinks he's cool just 'coz his eyes are red— which I doubt if it was his real eye color— and fuck him! I hate him!"

Obviously, he was an insecure and envious one who merely hated the guy's guts with no profound reason. And Natsume was the name that immediately screamed in her head. Whoever thought Natsume read decent books? But then again, whoever thought she _wanted_ to read academic books? For the benefit of the doubt, she pressed. "What book did he borrow?"

"Meh. Dunno. Don't care. I was just glad to see him get the hell outta my territory." Mikan was about to turn away to beckon him he was being useless so he immediately added, "But he did inquire 'bout books 'bout WPO and... uh... What wazzit? Uh... hmm... it starts with L... Le... no... L... _Aha!_ Freyland!"

Now that was ironic. "H-He did!?"

"What? Ya'noe him?"

"Maybe." she replied noncommittally, bitting her lower lip. "To which section did he go?"

"Upstairs? Dunno."

"Thanks." She gave him a bland, obligatory smile before she ran onto the stairs but then remembering something she scampered back and hollered. "Where do you think can I find about Amberlane?"

"Upstairs?"

Another unsure response... Great.

—

Only a small lamp was lighting the letters of the book's pages. It was better than none so Mikan was tight-lipped about it. She could nick the books out but she couldn't afford being caught by Natsume of her researching.

Using a pen she got from the 'librarian', she scribbled down notes of what she thought could be of use at the blank end pages of an old book about floras. And as the light was dim, she tended to space out every five to ten minutes. Needless to say, her attention span was pitiful.

It happened again— Her thought drifting. It drifted to the dead Amberian prisoners with their bodies looked like scorched and charcoals inside. The mental picture twisted was too severe and disgusting that Mikan felt an overwhelming and tempting urge to retch. Still she tried to hold on it and did her best to cradle her queasy feeling.

Her notes said that Amberlane got that name because the kingdom reflected a great Amber stone. Some scholars said that the great Amber stone was in fact a fire alice stone. She also did try to research what were alice stones and queerly enough, her own kingdom, Frayland, was involved.

Queer because she was never told of this on her history lessons. Either that or she was daydreaming when her tutor was giving her a lecture.

While she knew that Frayland was a battle arena way back then, she had no idea why it did become one.

It turned out that the alice stone was materialized there and then all influential (and trying to be influential) countries came to capture Frayland as their own, which was that time, Frayland's name was Nutter Valley.

It was funny and neat how paradoxical things churned out.

Back again to Amberlane, there was this king named Jujube who ordered that only fire-alices were to rule the kingdom to give justice and live to its name. What was confusing Mikan was why was King Ryukan, a non fire-alice weilder was ruling Amberlane now.

Mikan looked at the date the book was published and it was dated one decade ago. So something _must_ have happened after those years. Or more precisely...

Mikan froze on her seat.

"Eight years ago..." The words escaped before she could stop them. Immediately she clamped both her hands over her mouth and shook her head in denial.

She was just being paranoid— She was trying to convince herself. But didn't King Ryukan take his royal seat eight years ago? And what about the Amberian émigré that tried to kill Natsume?

Scared to death at her hypothesis, she roved her way to the newspaper rack and tried to search in vain for news dated eight years ago.

Half-heartedly and deniably, she wished she wouldn't find one.

Then she came across this headline:

_Ten-year-old Boy, Decapitated 6 Princes_

Her eyes took an overall look but her fear was blocking and blurring out all the letters. But something in her head ordered her to read so with a sharp intake of air, she forced herself to peruse the headline.

_In Amberlane, an outrage has let a loose when a ten-year-old boy, whose name will not be mentioned to protect his child rights, become the prime suspect of murdering 6 princes by decapitating their heads. They were not just ordinary princes, but the princes who hold the potential to rule the country for wielding the famed fire alice._

_According to one of the witnesses, the boy was acting strange the last few days before the said tragedy. Being a servant boy, and regularly cleaning the West Palace where the Fire Princes were staying, co-servants had not seen the irregularity of it when the boy came inside. It was then when he was said to chop off the princes' heads._

_After the headless bodies were found, the servants frantically went a thorough search of the heads and it was then when they found the boy on servant's quarters, making a pyramid out of the heads and the murder weapon, a butcher knife, was at hand._

_Renowned psychologist Rina Quinn was the one who examined the state of the boy's saneness._

"_The boy's rather normal despite the fact that he admitted the crime. He answers my questions honestly and I can tell because he keeps eye-contact. I have to note too that when he doesn't like the question, he tends to shut his mouth. I believe he knows something he doesn't want us to know. He's playing mind games with us." Quinn stated and added, "He's an amazingly smart kid too, seeing he aced the mandatory I.Q. test. His E.Q.'s pretty low though... I believe the boy's innocent in a way that someone told him to do it and twisted his mind. He's just a child after all."_

_Because of this, the boy's father Joujirou Hyuuga, a caretaker of royal stallions, is to be put through an investigation. The boy, from the meantime, is to stay under World Peace Organization's (WPO) Child Protection Program._

Her eyes unfocused. The horror of the truth was starting to eat her and it showed on her trembling fingers clutching the newspaper.

_Hyuuga_. Joujirou _Hyuuga_.

It _couldn't_ be Natsume's father... could he?

Despite that they were of the same age and possibly of the same paternal name, Natsume wasn't the child in the headline, was he?

This was merely a set-up or a dream, yeah?

But what about the charcoal-core prisoners that were on the news? It could only mean fire. And Natsume was a fire alice.

Wait a minute... Was there even a connection between those two incidents?!

Was Natsume _capable_ of those?

She had reflected this a hell lot of times already: Natsume was rude, harsh with words but when he was off his guard, he seemed so scared and unsure. Traumatized. Petrified.

Maybe it was guilt eating him?

Was two weeks spending time with him enough to trust him that he was _clean_ and _innocent_? Was two weeks enough to know him _completely_?

Her mind screamed no.

Her heart told her otherwise.

Shoes creaking the wooden flooring interrupted her train of thoughts. She didn't know why but she knew it was him without looking up to meet his gaze. She was scared. Not because she thought he was going to kill her but because they might end up in a confrontation that would prove her fears right.

"They were looking for you." his voice was a mutter, low, almost like a growl. He was standing right next to her stooped figure, hands on his pockets.

"Yeah?" She faced him distractedly. Her eyes unfocused. His eyes weren't trained on her but on the newspaper headline she had read. She knew he knew that she knew. "Tell me..." she started a whisper, testing and wavering. Then sucking to what she thought was an air of confidence, she continued louder yet as wavering as before, "Tell me you didn't do it..."

There was a long deafening pause that Mikan could have given anything to prolong it.

Yet he wouldn't cooperate. It was just like him. "I did."

A strangled gasp escaped her throat and she was almost suffocating. She didn't want to cry but she was already wheezing. She didn't even know the reason why she held on it. "H-How could you...? Why did you—?"

He cut her off with a cold glare. A glare she hasn't seen before. It was so detached. So callous. So heartless. So like he could _actually_ kill. "Why would it matter to you?" He made a pause to let her retort but she cried bitterly instead. Then, not in the least affected, he started to laugh caustically. "I was damn right. I knew you were not different. You react like the rest of them."

"You could have lied to me!" she screamed, not offended at the accusation thrown at her. She wasn't even paying attention to it. "I would have believed you! I _am_ willing to believe you... I really am..."

"Humans are funny creatures. They spend time figuring answers to life's questions and when the answer didn't go their way, they deny it, trying to tell themselves that the question was left unanswered." He recessed. "Do you know how pathetic you are?"

"B-But kill people?!"

He avoided her eyes. "Whatever."

This time, her eyes narrowed, remembering the newspaper article— especially the part of Quinn's statement. "There's something you're not telling me."

He gave her another caustic smirk. "There is. But I won't tell you."

"Why?"

"I never even told Ruka, what made you think I would tell you?"

Then she was silent and he turned to leave her in her sobs.

Suddenly, an unknown urge struck and even when she knew she would sound like a strangled cat, she called out to him desperately, quickly latching herself to his retreating back, her fingers clawing the fabric of the back of his black shirt.

"I know you won't tell me now, heck, you might never even tell me... But I trust you and I'm sorry! I'm sorry for once I doubted you!" Her clutch was distressed and her crying was more frenzied. It was like his forgiveness depended on it.

She had been selfish. She pried on his matters only for curiosity's sake. She didn't give a damn about what could Natsume feel. He was bottling himself with all those conflicting emotions. He was still having a battle he wanted to face alone. She shouldn't have pried and judged him. She should have just supported him whatever he was tackling. That was what she was thinking the whole while. Minus the strange overwhelming feeling of liking the feel of his back against her and the musky, minty smell that he was and not noticing Natsume stiffening suddenly.

He forced her hands off him and a small whimper betrayed her. But then he told her something that made her smile gratefully. Especially when she knew it took him a lot of effort and courage... and forgiveness to do it.

"Let's go back... Mikan."

_Mikan_.

Not twit. Not idiot. Not hey. Not you.

How come that the single, simple way of uttering her name made her felt like she was in 7th heaven?

It was then that Mikan Sakura realized that she was in love.

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** So Mikan fell first... for a change... Usually, fickies focused more on Natsume's development of feelings so yeah... I hope it's not too bad... and too soon. XD

I don't know with you but guys with dark, dark pasts appeal sexy and hawt to me. It's my sick fetish. X3 Don't worry, there is something that remotely looks like a plot twist (but still a plot twist and nope, Natsume doesn't have an evil twin brother!) that will be churned out in the later chapters. You can guess, but I won't tell. But at least you now have an idea and what WPO means. Guessing GPU might be easier. :D


	7. When the Universe Conspires

**Opening Note(s):** School's been a total sod. I've been swamped with lots of work and exams... The bum's I got kicked out of my college 'cause I can't maintain the average required... I've got two failing marks this sem! Now I'm finding myself a new school fast... damn... I was supposed to be a graduating student...

How I wish I enrolled on a less demanding university... T.T

So there you see! I'm full of teenage angst so please understand my late update! XD

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter VII – When the Universe Conspires

—

_Rule 7: If compatibility always depends in similarities, then how come north and south poles attract and jigsaw puzzles are cut unevenly?_

—

—

There has got to be some _exaggeration_ in her part.

There was _no way_ she could have fallen for him!

Perhaps a crush or an infatuation... but love?

Where in the nine hells did she get the idea from?!

Obviously she had been reading too much romance novels lately.

_Obviously!_ her mind squawked, almost livid. Her conflicting and blurry emotions last night had gotten better of her. She wasn't in love with him, was she?

She simply found him... a little attractive and appealing... and sexy—

She had to stop her thoughts right there or she'd be deemed a pervert for the rest of her shamed life.

Mikan paced anxiously around her room, chewing her fingernails. She was being impulsive on her decisions like always. After her silent confession last night and after she had awoken with a fresh new mind, she felt extremely embarrassed.

Severely mortified.

Compare her situation last night to a drunk, who had done embarrassing things like stripping naked and the next day, after the alcohol was out of the system, felt shamed for even doing those things.

Too bad the drunk excuse wouldn't work on her. For one, she was underage.

_It's not like I've said it aloud..._ she placated herself and momentarily stopped her pacing to welcome the new light. _But..._ She began to pace uneasily again. _What if Koko reads my mind and finds out?!_ She whimpered helplessly at the very thought. If Natsume would know she had _feelings_ for him, she would never hear the end of it. _I'm so done for...!_

Mikan hadn't thought of all the possible ways to lead her downfall when quite unhelpfully, Koko skidded the shoji door and a standard grin plastered on his face.

All Mikan could do was to gape foolishly, blanch and turn beleaguered. "Oh no..." she wheezed, half whimpering. "You already knew, didn't you?"

Koko gave her a look of innocence. "Know what? I am here to announce breakfast is ready."

It was then when Mikan realized her blatant gaffe and before Koko could crack an impish grin and read her mind, she did her best to scatter her wits and concentrated her mind into a different topic. However, as someone in dire pressure, it could be trusted that Mikan couldn't organize her psyche and so her thoughts unwittingly drifted to the decapitated princes.

Then Koko frowned.

"He didn't do it." Koko immediately avowed before he could even stop himself. Inwardly, he wanted to smack his head for the witless slip of tongue but he felt incredibly relieved that he had defended his captain.

Of course everyone knew what happened yesterday. It came as a shock to the group but it wasn't Mikan's fault that she got curious and all. If he was Mikan, he would have done the same. Heck. He _had_ done the same. It was everyone's nature to just find answers. And since Mikan had been somewhat a part of the group, she was bound to find out the truth.

But not the whole and _absolute_ truth.

Natsume had warned them and they were to obey. It wasn't because they didn't trust Mikan and spill the secret. Heck, if it was someone else, he would have thrown accusing stuffs, ran away and maybe report to the police and hide forever for fear. But Mikan didn't.

And that was exactly the reason why they have to keep her from the truth. They couldn't let her get involve more to their mess and mess up her own life more.

It was: What you don't know can't hurt you. Right?

They hoped.

"I know." Mikan smiled placidly at Koko and quickly shifted her gear by scratching her cheek distractedly. "So, has the milk arrived?"

"Yeah!" Koko chirped in happily covering up his shock and immediately brightened up. He should get back to his habit in reading minds every time to avoid being caught off-guard. Nevertheless, he felt amazed at Mikan's ability to trust. Did she know that newspaper publishing was being controlled too by GPU and that the truth was immensely different compared to the broadsheet?

No.

They why?

Koko didn't know. He was a mind reader. Not a mind interpreter.

Maybe Mikan was plainly a simpleton that she only needed a simple answer and elaborate, complicated explanations were rubbish, as she didn't have a large brain capacity to handle it.

Still it was _somewhat_ a remarkable and quite a commendable trait.

So it would too despicable of him if he wouldn't reward her... With that, he abruptly stopped to his tracks, making Mikan collide lightly against his back. Koko need not to look back to know she was slightly peeved. "Oh yeah... I lied. I know about _it_."

Mikan blinked, perplexed. "What _it_?" When all Koko did to reply was to wink meaningfully, she finally got it and soon found herself flushing hot red in embarrassment. "You— You—!" She pointed a trembling finger at him, obviously too distracted and felt betrayed and embarrassed to find the right words to say.

"Don't worry." Koko cracked a wide grin, ruffling Mikan's hair and slinging his arm over her shoulder like they had been friends for eons.

Coffee irises trained expectantly at Koko, doing her best impression of being pitiful. "You mean you won't tell a soul?" she uttered in a stage whisper and sounded hopeful... way too hopeful... not to mention desperate.

Koko waved an offhanded hand, trying to placate her. "Nah... Just a couple of people..."

Mikan had to stop and shrug his arm away. "And who are these couple of people?" She narrowed her eyes, giving him a warning.

Unfortunately, she was as scary as a stuffed animal dressed in colors of Christmas that Koko ignored easily her warning. "Oh you know... Ruka, Misaki, Tsubasa, Tsubaki-san—"

A gasp cut through his enumeration. "Well why don't you tell the _whole_ crew except Natsume!?" Mikan snapped sarcastically, clearly cheesed off.

Koko beamed at her and looked at her like she was some kind of a misunderstood and covert genius. "Good idea!"

Mikan gaped at him. "You're unbelievable!" she squawked. Albeit, a small smile tucked her lips and she began to laugh with Koko.

Laughter came to an abrupt stop, halfway to the kitchen, when Natsume met them head-on and gave the two a silencing glare. Obviously, he was looking so not like a happy bunny.

Mikan caught her breath in her throat, suddenly feeling ill at ease and finding the situation genuinely awkward. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, mentally berating herself for not properly combing her hair before she pulled them into pigtails. Her face seemed to heat up, fighting the temptation to look at him and gave herself away. "Umm..." She nervously twiddled her fingers. "Good—"

"Koko, after the breakfast, help the others load our stuffs. We're leaving." Natsume instructed then looked at Mikan who seemed to be struggling to hide her irritation for cutting her off.

"So soon?" Koko tried to stall and kill the awkward air with his grin.

"Persona called. He was getting impatient. The reward got a centimeter smaller."

Mikan had enough being denied of her existence. She harrumphed and purposely stomped her foot and furiously skirted to the kitchen. Her trail was followed by muttered I'm-such-a-sucker speeches.

Natsume raised a brow. "What's wrong with her?"

Koko grinned goofily. "It's a girl thing."

—

—

Her steps were prompt, even and purposeful while she made her way through the dirt road. It was a miracle that her freshly shinned shoes were not gathering unwanted dirt on its sides. It was as if the dirt and she were on the same pole and thus repelled one other.

She knew deep inside of her she was lost, yet her gray eyes were unfrettingly scanning the whole area in search of the place. She could have asked the villagers but she had chosen not. She really didn't like talking to people whom she thought was lower than her. Besides, she was top class and used to do things by herself.

And then, she found it.

781 Cystein Street— The little inn called Halcyon Dreams.

"Good morning..." someone greeted her upon her first step into the inn's reception area. The greeting was unenthusiastic and almost monotone like the receptionist wanted everyone to know that it wasn't really her job and she was just a stand-in.

"Good morning to yourself." she spat back equally unenthusiastic and eyed the green-eyed receptionist's crude nameplate on her right breast callously. _Hi my name's Sumire_, it said.

The girl watched Sumire robotically flipped open the guest book, picked up a pen and without regarding her, asked, "Name?"

The girl straightened up. It was time to get down to business. "Actually, I'm here to see Natsume. Natsume Hyuuga."

"Name?" Sumire insisted, pretending deaf about the girl's request to see the captain. She was trying not to give anything away but her tightening of her grip on the pen betrayed her.

"Look," the girl said impatiently. "I don't want a room. I want to see Natsume Hyuuga."

Sumire looked up to smile at the girl contemptuously. "Well then, you have no business here. This is an inn not a place to search for missing persons. That would be the police station several blocks from here."

"Don't test me." she warned but then decided to let it pass. She sighed irritably and pulled out her identification card gloatingly to Sumire's face. "Luna Koizumi. GPU. Sent for inspection."

Sumire regarded Luna's I.D. banefully, trying to hide her growing trepidation and hope it was a fake I.D. "Nice try but you see, I'm not informed of this scam so—" she made a shooing gesture.

Luna scoffed. "Well clearly, your captain doesn't trust you enough to inform you even the most trifle of matters."

Sumire slumped the guest book shut and significantly stood from her seat to reflect her growing rage. "What. Did. You. Say?!"

"I said you look good in that costume, _pirate_." Luna challenged rudely. She trusted herself she could fight back if Sumire would happen to strike. "Why don't you inform Hyuuga. Here's my I.D. show it and he'll know."

—

—

"They seem chummy. Who is she?" Tsubasa threw a thumb on the direction of the newly-arrived girl who was talking to Natsume.

It was Luna and she was holding up a clipboard and making several notes and checks (maybe more than a few X-marks too). Her eyes were scanning and checking every detail of the crew and the ship. It wasn't the first time GPU had sent someone for inspection but it was certainly the first time they had sent someone apparently attractive rather than the nerdy clipboard girl named Nessy.

She wasn't docile-looking too like Nessy. Sure she wore glasses like Nessy but Luna looked like a tyrant and stiff so they couldn't possibly bribe or wheedle her to write good things about them...

_Bugger..._

"Who?" Koko's voice was strained due to massive cargo he was pushing up the ship through the lever. He had managed to throw his head back to see who was Tsubasa asking about though. He was momentarily stumped at the incredibly pretty girl. "Maybe old girlfriend?" Koko guessed vaguely then dismissed it when he realized it was quite unlikely. "Hey! Help me here, would you?"

"Can't you see I'm doing work here?" Tsubasa griped crabbily, pretending to examine something interesting on the cargos but not before taking another look at the young girl and whistling in appreciation.

"Like what?" someone challenged behind him and dragged him with his ear to force him to face the very livid Misaki.

"Misaki—!" Tsubasa exclaimed and was taken aback nervously and somehow guiltily. "Hi baby— _oof_!" A mop was shoved none-too-gently against his chest and he gawked at the mop dumbly. He scratched the back of his head thoughtlessly. "What am I gonna do with this?"

"Oh, I don't know, hit yourself with it?" she snapped and shoved a bucket of water and Tsubasa need not to exaggerate the stagger he did at the incredible force she exerted. "Get the idea, you moron!" she screamed and then began to walk away then spared at Tsubasa who was still frozen on his place. "Move it!"

At the commanding and demanding voice, Tsubasa immediately scampered off to work and watched Misaki join Sumire guarding over their performance with their arms and eyebrows crossed.

Sumire too was giving Koko an accusatory glare and tapping her foot impatiently as if she was expecting him to do something she wouldn't like.

Koko wisely chose to keep his mouth shut, inwardly thankful his sweating was at least had a job for display and refusing to read the girls' minds. He had read lots of murderous thoughts before, but Koko knew better that those evil thoughts were nothing compared to those two undecidedly jealous girls.

_Sometimes they're even scarier than Natsume..._

"What's wrong with those girls?" Tsubasa asked in an inconspicuous manner, still rubbing the sore parts of his body with a frown. Too distracted, he accidentally placed too much stress on one of them. "Ow!"

Koko carefully crept closer. "I think they're being threatened." Koko answered back in a whisper.

Tsubasa momentarily stopped picking his sore and whipped his head to Koko with a surprised face. "By the new girl?" Tsubasa uttered in disbelief.

Koko shrugged and took his rest atop one of the cargos. "Perhaps."

It took moments to process the information then suddenly, Tsubasa grinned like a lunatic, sniggering. "Wow! This is sweet!"

Koko read his mind and laughed at his thoughts. "I like the way you think, so silly!"

"It's not silly!" Tsubasa gripped, hurt. He had mopping the same spot for quite a while now. "I knew it! Misaki has a thing for me after all! I could use the girl to make her jealous."

Koko gave Tsubasa a look that was cross between mock and amusement. "Get real. It's not like the girl will be interested enough to you to make her jealous."

_Point._ "I bet you're being threatened by me too." Tsubasa bit back. His tone suspiciously sounding he was hurt.

"Sure. Look at my threatened and panicky face." Koko point blank pointed his face with a wide grin.

"Whatever..." Tsubasa grumbled, defeated. He decided to give up on mopping now that the girls went down to join Tsubaki. But he didn't put down the mop so he'd be ready to go for a show if ever they came back and rest his cheek over the mop's handle. "Too bad Natsume couldn't use her to his advantage... What a waste."

Koko played bemused just for the sake of running the conversation. "Why?"

"Because he had no cherished someone. Poor guy. I actually pity him. At least Misaki shows she cares for me by hitting my face."

Koko shrugged. "You look like you really don't pity him. You're more like mocking him. If you ask me, you're worse. And who said he had no one to cherish?"

Tsubasa snorted derisively. "Don't give me the sentimental crap that it is us."

Koko grinned wider. "Of course not!"

Tsubasa gave a big thought for a moment, eliminating the possible romantic prospects for the dubbed _Cherished Someone_. Deciding Koko could read his mind anyway, he thought aloud. "Assuming Natsume's not asexual... Hotaru... heck no. Unless he's into incest. Tsubaki... she's too old. Sumire is, we all know there's no chance in hell. I can't seem to find a profound reason to justify that but it's like common sense. Misaki... _I'm_ her punching bag. But I like sadists so it's actually my sick fetish."

"Natsume's likes sadists too." Koko pointed out automatically.

"Misaki's mine and Natsume could get his own sadistic psychotic girlfriend for himself." Tsubasa defensively grouched. He paused to recall the names rolling in his mind before he was interrupted. "So that'll leave the little princess?" He looked at Koko significantly, as if waiting for his confirmation.

Koko gave him a two-thumbs up. "Congratulations Sherlock for solving your first kiddie crime."

Tsubasa ignored Koko but his patience for this grinning maniac was wearing thin. "Natsume has a thing for Mikan?"

"No. Not yet." And even when Koko said that he looked so cheerfully positive. Like he was not really a mind reader but a fortune teller.

It was now Tsubasa's turn to laugh rudely. "I like the way you think, so silly!"

—

—

"So I guess you're an alice?" Sumire tried to come out as casual yet her voice had an edgy feel to it.

She had waited for the time to confront Luna alone and it came when Luna went inside the ship's kitchen to inspect. It was even a miracle Luna didn't drag Natsume with her to force him become her guide.

Perhaps she wanted to brazen out with Sumire too.

Sumire watched Luna with her narrowed eyes, waiting for her do to something or any changes in her stoic features. It didn't. Even when she answered, "Yes."

Sumire raised a brow contemptuously. She had precariously picked up a knife just to test Luna for any change in facial expression— a fear or something else to rag at her. But none came, much to her displeasure. "And what's your alice?"

"What is your alice first." Luna shot back to her.

Sumire visibly flinched. To her, her alice was as big as a secret as Natsume-incident eight years ago. Although it might be a big overstatement... "I asked first."

"It doesn't matter who asked first. What matters is who wants to get the answer more."

"Don't be smart on me, git!"

She turned her face arrogantly full to her, as if challenging Sumire to say it to her pretty face. "My name's not git. It's Luna."

"How original." Sumire sneered. She hated pretending to be cool girls and this Luna was a great exemplar. Doesn't mean she was GPU's representative, doesn't mean she was the co-boss.

"You don't like me, do you?" Luna asked monotonously as if to tell Sumire she really didn't care and that the feeling was mutual.

"I will if you keep sticking to Natsume like the slut you are now."

Luna let out a contemptuous scoff. "I see..." she drawled slowly. "You're another self-proclaimed girlfriend of Natsume."

Sumire wouldn't be deterred. "And you're not?"

"I'm here to work and since I'm a professional, hanky-pankies aren't my thing." Luna said in a condensing manner and whipped around to open the door out only to see the eavesdropping pirates, Koko and Tsubasa. Seeing as they've been found out, they grinned shakily and scratched their heads meekly.

Luna let out a scoff.

"This is the _mighty_ crew behind the Raven Ridge?" She gave the two male pirates an overall disappointed look. "And here I thought sea monkeys were pathetic." And then she left with an arrogant head poked airily heavenward and the three members watched her wake.

"How cool!" Koko gushed, completely immune to insults. But then he caught Sumire's glare and coughed. "I mean... what a bitch."

—

—

Whoever said that the world was unfair to the women population had never seen the Raven Ridge work.

While the boys were busy loading the ship with goods, slavering under the sun and dehydrated; the girls were busy sogging their cookies until mushy in their teas, under the hefty shade of tree and leisurely watching an entirely different scenery of field of flowers and drifting butterflies— In another term: picnicking.

Tsubaki stirred her tea passively, eyes trained to the slaving boys and smiling and sighing dreamily every now and then. "Luna's a blessing in disguise." she mused. "Just look at how sweet young love is..."

Misaki followed Tsubaki's stare to figure what those dreamy musings about and saw Natsume supervising his teammates work with Luna (insert twitch here) who was chortling amiably and flirtatiously. Luna had seemed to have forgotten she was inspecting as her clipboard was sent to her back's oblivion.

"Sweet?" Misaki cried in disbelief if not disapproval and disgust. "I can't believe you're rooting for her!"

Sumire nodded stiffly, a frown visible and muttered darkly, "Traitor..."

"What?" Tsubaki looked severely offended especially on the traitor part. "Of course I am rooting for her. I thought you guys were too! After all, Natsume seems to like her the best."

Sumire broke the cookie into two crossly to show her spite. "I object." Sumire said crustily accenting the cookie crunch.

"I second the motion." Misaki concurred, raising a hand.

"Look, she's a hypocrite. She says she's a pro and hanky-pankies are no-no but she suckers up to him like a slut."

Tsubaki gave Sumire a reprimanding look for using the S-word. "Sumire, darling, how could you accuse her of such?"

The two anti-Lunas slapped a palm against their forehead as if to say _There goes another fooled one..._

Sumire frowned disapprovingly. Then, facing the general direction of Luna, she closed an eye and pretended to quash the miniature Luna with all her spite. "Luna's entranced you too? I can't believe you've been hoodwinked by that hypocrite."

Tsubaki blinked amusedly, realizing what were they on. "No, no, no." she admonished as she tittered. "I was referring to _her_." Her old finger pointed the moping Mikan sighing miserably and doing nothing but pick on the glass blades and throw it poutingly to Luna's direction who was about ten feet away. Of course the grass blades would reach about a few centimeters only to be blown back by the wind to her face.

"Oh..." Misaki grinned puckishly, hit by a realization.

"What _about_ her?" Sumire frowned. Apparently she still didn't like that it was Mikan. She was rooting for herself...

"She's jealous." Misaki pointed out cheerfully then clasped her hands with Tsubaki as if in an excite and were watching a chick flick. "I knew you'd side with me!"

"Well I'm jealous too!" Sumire gripped defensively. "Wouldn't that make _me_ sweet too?!"

"More like envious. So that would make you _bitter_ rather than sweet." Misaki said drolly, smiling. She nudged her friend, trying to pull her to their side as well. "C'mon Sumire, you see it too, don't you?"

"No." she was defiant.

"A lie."

The three almost jumped at the new voice.

"Hotaru!" Tsubaki said half edgily and half admonishingly, clutching her heart from the shock. "When did you get here?"

Hotaru looked comfortable from her seating position and refilled her tea. "I was here from the start—" She jugged the empty teapot and looked at Tsubaki accusingly. "No more."

Tsubaki looked down innocently at all of their unfinished first teas. "How many servings have you had?"

"Six." She sipped her quarter-filled cup slowly, trying to preserve the tea. "I've told you I was here from the start."

"Okay..." they all said slowly and somewhat doubtfully. Hotaru had the habit of popping out of nowhere...

"So what are you, on our side?" Misaki asked testingly, her eyes narrowing to gauge Hotaru's reaction.

"I side where I'll gain more."

"And where'll you gain more?" Misaki pressed. With Hotaru in their side it would be like having nuclear bomb versus spears and arrows in a war.

Hotaru took another sip of tea but discovered instead that none was left. Hotaru frowned, displeased but proceeded to talk. "Luna first. I say she's more like Natsume. They possibly agree in a lot of things. And possibly understand each other so-called angst." Hotaru made an airy quote on angst with a scorn. Obviously finding the thought very ridiculous and infuriating. "Mikan, on the other hand, is different. _Way_ different. They argue in the simplest things and being raised up in a positive environment, she quite can't grasp Natsume's retarded and rather disturbed psych."

"So... you're saying Luna's better off with Natsume?"

Hotaru quirk a small sagely smile. "Tell me, can a blind man lead another blind man?"

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** I think I've made my characters OOC... But I've warned you the very first chapter, right? Yes I know, I've CRAPPED this seemingly unprogressive chapter but I swear this is the best I could get out for now. Updates might be extremely slow... Parents say my life revolves around computer too much that it affects my studies...

On a lighter note: Happy Halloween!

Or maybe it is a darker note...

Thank you so much (!):

crimsoneyes44, Shmeeko, Mistress Symphony, xXRainbow-ChanXx, Neko-chan and Caicai, meliss66, StarAngel02, rockerfaith, animearchitect, BnWhites, My Hopeless Romantic, xXbunnyholicXx, Erilin-chan, Rainy Day Pearl, niceladysakura, pApAw, gabyrendon, Orange Sorbet, Xim-no-writerX, Cute Pukite, Nadeshiko-hime, MoonCastic, ~stephmoomoo, Lynneh, Smoochynose, JoiZ. D, Magical Goddess Asahina, storylover1234, kirei31


	8. Silent Blatant Confession

**Opening Note(s):** Thanks to those comforting words but really, it's not much of a deal... at least for someone used to seeing horrible marks like me. The 'angst' was only for the lulz. X3

About Luna, I don't think I'll be giving her one great role like staying in the ship irrationally throughout their journey. Originally, I've made an OC for her role. But I thought she wouldn't much of an impact like Luna. Also, she's easier to remember since she is a GA character. I know because when I read other fics with lots of OCs I tend to: "_Original Character_— Who? Who was he/she again?!"

That's why my other OC Tsubaki, for easier identification, was named after Tsubasa, who was his grandmother. O'Hara on the other hand... well who cares? He doesn't play much of a role so it's okay if someone forgets him.

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter VIII – Silent Blatant Confession

—

_Rule 8: One drunk man on a live girl's chest—  
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of beer!_

—

—

Mikan's eyes were watering and she wanted to quit.

But she knew it was what should be done. She had to keep going. She had to go and fight temptations.

She _had_ to be a fighter like them.

And damn it! She'd chop one more box of onions if that was what it would take to become a fighter!

—Or maybe just a quarter of it, she bargained.

Mikan wiped her tears with the back of her hand and squinted her eyes in false belief it could lessen the eye-irritation she was feeling. Slowly, she drew her brows together in mock concentration and—

"Boo."

A horrified yelp came and instinctively whipped the knife defensively to the intruder.

The intruder merely stared blankly at the knife. With her usually pallid face, it was hard to tell if she blanched at the foreboding knife. She lifted up her hand, when she notice Mikan wasn't putting down the knife away from her face as her eyes were shut, and did the work for her.

The cold yet dainty hand gravitating her arm made her snap her eyes to finally recognize she was out of danger. "Oh..." Mikan looked severely relieved and slumped at the seat closest to her, stilling her raging breath. "Please don't go scaring people like that, Imai-san..."

"And don't go pointing knives irresponsibly like that." Hotaru retorted evenly. After that, she simply remained stationary on her spot. Hotaru was the type who wouldn't make unnecessary movements. She said nothing and silently watched Mikan stood from her place and recommenced her work. If it was Misaki to do the work she was doing, she would have waffled first. Probably the right thing to do but she would rather call it setting up a mood. Waffles were for carelessly planned plots. "You're tearing." Hotaru pointed out the obvious then covered her nose with her white handkerchief.

"Er..." Mikan find it uncomfortable with Hotaru ogling her. "I'm chopping onions." Mikan said simply, rubbing her eye.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. She pierced off a piece of french bread and without warning, lunged it into Mikan's mouth.

Before Mikan could ask what was that for, Hotaru explained, "Usually, refrigerating onions is the best way but seeing that they're newly shipped, you have to resort to breathing through your mouth. It's the smell that gets you tearing and the bread helps to absorb the moisture."

"Uuh. Aw sough woo ant ee hoo huff uuf." Translation: Oh. I though you want me to shut up.

When Hotaru didn't say anything, she tried Hotaru's technique. A minute passed and her jaw was surrendering so she took off the bread but still breath with her mouth. "It's hard— _pant_— breathing— _wheeze_— through my— _puff_— mouth." That was probably the only sentence Mikan had felt relieved after finishing. It was hard breathing through mouth when you were doing something not quite exhausting.

"And does the strain lessen when you talk?"

_Ouch._

Mikan chopped onions again and gradually, the strain and controlled breathing became semi-regular. Sometimes she accidentally gathered air through her nose but that was it. "Hey, this is rather effective. The irritation lessened." Mikan smiled gratefully. "Thanks for this. We've rarely talked but when you do you're really helpful." She blinked. "Hey... come to think of it, it's the _first_ time we've talked!"

"I'm here to discuss you about something."

Mikan's discomfiture around Hotaru came back. Hotaru's dead serious and no-nonsense expression unnerved her. "W-What is it?"

"You've been avoiding Natsume." A declaration rather than something that needed clarification. "Since breakfast to the ship's departure and up to now."

What's up with her, suddenly being concerned about her welfare with Natsume? "I-It's not like I'm avoiding him, I just want him to spend time with the inspector. After all, that's good hosting..."

Hotaru let Mikan have a taste of her infamous penetrating stare. "This doesn't have to do anything about yesterday, does it?"

"N-No..." she squeaked, avoiding making eye-contact. Hotaru had penetrated through her, she knew it. "Well, yes, kind of... at least about some sort of a realization..."

"They are rooting for you."

Mikan whipped her head to Hotaru, her brown eyes lost in confusion. "Rooting...? Against who?"

"Luna of course."

Mikan coughed and covered half of her face, denying the existence of the glowing red blush on her cheeks. "It's not like that!" she leaped to her defense. She didn't bother asking how they all knew she had a _different_ sort of feeling to the ship's captain. She assumed straight away that it was somewhat a universal fact. "It's not like I'm going to go cat-fighting with Koizumi-san just because we happen to like the same person! It's too unbecoming of a princess! I'm not some desperate fool who'll do anything to get what I want... specially if it's a passing fancy..."

So many words of defense from a simple mention of the name Luna. "Is it a passive fancy?"

Mikan let out a blatantly detectable shudder of uncertainty. "Who knows?" she finally surrendered, slumping to the nearest chair. "Besides, who am I against Luna... if ever. I can't do things right— I always screw up! Boys don't like noisy, annoying and meddling girls..."

"Because they prefer human icicles?" Hotaru said, bane lacing her tone.

Mikan nodded, staring at her feet. "Don't they pose a great challenge to them? Trying to turn a cold one into a warm one?"

Hotaru's brain cramped with lots of comebacks. One was Natsume wasn't the type to go changing people when he obviously had the same attitude problem and Luna was anything but cold when around Natsume. Yet only one topped her list. "Supposing that Natsume was intrigued by Luna and was attracted due to what you impose as challenge: What now will happen when the challenge is over?"

Mikan lapsed into silence, thinking the answer. A few moments later, she gave a vague shrug. "I don't know... _and they live happily ever after_?"

Hotaru downright scoffed. "Feelings based in something as weak as a challenge don't last until 'ever after'. When a challenge is over, everything is over. With nothing intriguing left, interests are lost."

Mikan gaped at Hotaru and for a moment she saw something acutely warm and sad in her eyes. "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?" _Because you're an icicle yourself and you don't want anyone go fawning over you just because they see you as challenging._

Mikan began to sniff and Hotaru rolled her eyes at her antics. "What is it now you're crying about? I know they're not onions."

"But that was so beautiful and sad!" Mikan exclaimed, suddenly holding Hotaru's hands along with the knife she had forgotten to put down.

"Careful with the blade." Hotaru warned edgily. You could never rest your laurels when you were around a self-confessed clumsy girl.

The idiot seemed not to hear the warning though as she continued to croon at Hotaru's so-called awesomeness. "That's so moving and awe-inspiring! I'll teach that to my children!"

Hotaru raised a brow. "A little bit fast forward, aren't we?"

A cough came followed by a slow blush. Hotaru concluded that Mikan was always like this whenever she was embarrassed or exposed. Mikan immediately released Hotaru's hand and tried to find something interesting to look at. "N-Not Natsume's of course."

Hotaru sneered in response. The girl liked to unknowingly divulge her secret fantasies; it was funny. In some way, her mission was accomplished but somewhat a fail. Since Mikan had already said she wouldn't make any move to break Luna and Natsume apart, she had to do all the dirty work by herself.

She would win the _bet_.

"Imai-san?" Mikan's ring like voice sliced faultlessly her thick cloud of reverie. "Thank you." She smiled sweetly, bowing slightly. "Thank you for your encouraging and enlightening words."

Something tugged on a side of Hotaru's lips, involuntarily giving Mikan a slanted smile. She chose not to say more and opted and concluded it was time for her to leave.

"Oh and Imai-san!" Mikan blurted out-of-the-blue. "C-C-C..." She paused, receiving Hotaru's hurry-up-already look. "C-Can I call you Hotaru-chan?"

A lapse of silence came then Hotaru shrugged, untroubled. "Do as you wish."

Two arms suddenly flung around her neck, again with the knife precariously dangling on her back. "Yay! Hotaru-chan, Hotaru-chan, Hotaru-chan! Yay!"

Hotaru had to lean her head away to keep her from being permanently deaf. "Can—" Hotaru managed to squeeze a breath. Mikan leaned away to stare expectantly at Hotaru's passive face.

"Yes?" Mikan beamed. _Ask me to call me Mikan-chan!_

"Can you release me? You smell of onions."

—

—

Being not a heavy drinker, Ruka was down already after his fourth beer bottle. Koko grinned toothily at him, with his fifth beer he pretended he was bloated already and slumped to the floorboards. He wasn't really competitive so as long as he wasn't the first one to surrender, it was okay with him.

The sea was a little wavier than usual so he felt like he was a baby being rocked to sleep. He could use some nap... better yet, sleep. It was way too early for bedtime but it was technically nighttime being seven o'clock and all.

But apparently the heavens sent someone to jeopardize his rather lazy plans when a hand clasped over his ear dragging him up.

"_Ahohow_!" Koko grinned despite the ordeal, looking expectantly at a very disgruntled Sumire.

Sumire released his ear and propped her hands over her waist. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Napping!" he answered enthusiastically.

"What about the dishes?" she inquired, throwing her arms.

He blinked. "What about it?"

"Haven't we all agreed that whoever loses the drinking match will wash the dishes?" she said, the word _duh_ lacing her tone.

"Yeah. But it's Ruka-kun who lost, not me."

"But Ruka-sama's badly worn out! You saw him swoon and heaved all his insides out!"

"I know." Koko agreed, pretending to be serious and nodding his head. "Gross, yeah?"

"That's not my point! When the loser by some dumb luck cannot fulfill the job, the runner up unfortunately will take on the job. It happens on beauty pageants. So off to work now!" Sumire explained and began to grab Koko's arm, dragging him to the kitchen.

"Can't keep your hands off me, can you?" he quipped.

Sumire sighed exasperatedly. "When will you take things seriously?"

—

This has got nothing to do with washing the damned dishes anymore.

But of pride.

Right. Bloating their stomach with beer was synonymous to bloating their ego's with pride.

In one flourish motion, Natsume hauled another bottle of beer and shook it rigorously. Surely enough when he opened it, large amount of foam oozed out. He downed it on one go.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Tsubasa indicted, banging the table that caused the beer bottles to clatter.

"It's not cheating, it's called thinking out of the box." Natsume retorted, preparing to do the same technique at another bottle.

"Thinking out of the box?!" Tsubasa's nostril's flared. "How 'bout if I punch you right now to knock you over so I'll win by default?!"

"Then that's cheating." Natsume said, hauling up his beer as he made his point. "And it's not like you can knock me over."

"Yeah?" Tsubasa began to rise from his chair, challenging him. "Why don't we have a different match right now?!"

Natsume regarded him in a bored manner, then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Misaki approaching them.

He smirked at him and a low chuckle escaped his throat. "Misaki's coming. Better be good or your seedy scheme won't work."

"W-What?" Tsubasa felt suddenly trapped and at lost. With his wits shattered he vulnerably and awkwardly sat back on his chair.

"Pizza." Misaki said drolly, placing down the circular food. Being in the open ocean and with the chilly wind enthusiastically blowing, Misaki had no intention on staying long and chatting with them.

Misaki was about to turn her heel when Tsubasa tugged the end of her shirt. She frowned at the fist clasped around her shirt then trailed to the long tanned arm to see Tsubasa smiling sheepishly at her.

For a moment, Misaki was at lost of what to do specially when she realized he was unusually more attractive tonight and she admit, was a little flattered at his gesture. She glanced at Natsume to try and figure out what was this all about but Natsume pretended to be interested in eating his slice of pizza. She was about to loosen her hard features when Tsubasa ticked her off by patting his thigh invitingly, gesturing her to sit on it.

She downright scoffed, prying his hand away. "You're not in a beerhouse and I'm not your hostess!"

Tsubasa winced painfully then glanced troublingly at Natsume as if asking for his help. But Natsume still pretended to be interested at the pizza... _Damn you! At times like this!_ "B-But... But I want youuu!" he instantly stalled then with no brilliant help he began to leach himself to Misaki, burying his face against her bosom.

Misaki naturally flushed and tried to unlatch Tsubasa, streaming curses at him and hitting him. "Stop this nonsense now, I know you're not drunk or I'll hit your groin hard, mister!" she threatened.

The threat made Tsubasa freeze on his place whilst Misaki smirked in triumph. "That's right, stop this perversity now and release me!"

Still Tsubasa made no move. Natsume raised a beer bottle to him in silent applaud.

"Tsubasa?" Misaki peer at him curiously. The position she was in was quite uncomfortable. "Tsubasa—" The floor shook and Tsubasa's weight shifted purposely further to her, causing her imbalance and landed on her derrière. "Tsubasa Andou!" she raged ready to hit him on his groin just as what she'd said. But then, he snored. "Oh! Damn you!"

Natsume chuckled across them, obviously finding entertainment on Misaki's ordeal and Tsubasa's heavenly position.

"Are you finding my misery funny?" she snapped mechanically.

Natsume's smirk turned upside down. "Are you raising your voice to me?"

_Oops._ "Sorry." She bit her lip.

"Good. Now go with you two now." Natsume dismissed, swigging his beer.

When Misaki had her back turned against him, dragging Tsubasa rather roughly, Tsubasa winked at Natsume in mission accomplish pose whilst Natsume mock-saluted him.

Then he was alone. He and his beer. Oh, _and_ someone from the upper deck where the ship's control panel was. And she was glancing at him for time to time now, rather secretively.

But not so secretively.

"Hey twit!" he called out to her. "Enjoying the view?"

He'd meant the ocean but he must've unknowingly stroke some guilty strings on her that made her jump. She managed to gather her composure though but she didn't know where to place her rather awkward arm. She decided to cross them and stuck her head airily. "None of your business!"

Natsume found himself grinning at her. He found her oddly adorable with her duster shirt and pants. _Must've been the beer..._ "Come down here!"

"What?!" Mikan stumbled lightly, obviously not expecting an answer like that. She whipped her head down to him and saw him equally staring at her. The light was dim so she couldn't tell if he was merely joking or not.

"I said come here!"

"What!" _Oh no._ She fretted. He'd sounded so serious. It was too surreal for her! It was always her coming to him uninvited. Now he was inviting her to join him, she found herself at lost on how to react.

Natsume began to glower at her and bannered his fist forebodingly. "Are you deaf or you're just too dumb to understand?" he drawled darkly, a slight slur on his voice.

She gasped. Holding on to the railing and bending down at him as possible, she accused, "You're drunk!"

"I'm not!" He huffed. "Now come down here!" He ordered then stumped his foot hard down the floor to emphasize his point.

Her woman-pride suddenly soared up and played hard to get. "I'm a princess. I'm not ordered around by some pirate."

Natsume stood there for a second then back resignedly at his seat. "Suit yourself." he said, suspiciously sounded like a kicked puppy.

Mikan winced regretfully. She had hoped he'd cajole her more. _Mou! You don't have to give up so soon! You were in the verge of being romantic! Why'd you have to stop right there!_

She waited for a few moments, waiting, waiting for him to say something— anything!

In the end, she lost the fight...

"You ought to stop, you're drunk." Mikan pouted at Natsume, sitting opposite him and replacing Tsubasa.

"I'm not drunk." he said simply, swigging the beer and consecutively gnawed a whole slice of pizza.

"Stop it." Mikan repeated, trying to sound as scary and as commanding as a mother.

He took a swig before regarding her with his hooded eyes. "And if I don't?"

"I'll punch your gut to make you throw all your beer out." she said gravely.

Natsume eyed her silently, gauging how serious her threat was. He frowned at her rather blunt remark then realizing how ridiculous it was, it slowly twitched upward. It was a smirk then a grin. Suddenly, a low rumble came to his throat and he chuckled. Then he _laughed_. He laughed so hard he was clutching his sides!

Mikan had wondered and longed to hear his laugh but now she regretted it. How foolish was she to think that this hardly-ever-showing-positive-emotion-such-as-laughter person had a kind of laugh that was ringing, pleasant to hear and was full of positive energy.

His laugh was hysterical and oozing with unrestrained sneer. It was the kind of laugh the fictitious villains use whenever they were up to something evil.

His laughter was what he was. He was the kind of what you see was what you could get. She should've known... There was no 'inner, gentle Natsume'. What a waste of thought!

"What's so funny?" Mikan demanded sulkily.

"You know what?" he started, trying to quell his laughter, "To others what you said sound like a threat but—" He leered at her and placed his hand over her head. Mikan gazed at his red irises in confusion. "—But to you, you just look cute." he finished, ruffling her hair and drawing his hand back to his beer.

She gaped at him. _Had he just..._ she subconsciously planed her hair, _complemented me?_ Mikan looked at him with hope only to be crushed and disappointed for the nth time when he hiccupped. _He's drunk and he's out of his mind!_

"You're drunk and out of your mind!" she voiced out her inner thoughts, sounding more like frustrated than reprimanding him.

"And you look flustered."

"I—" she choked. "It's because of what you've said! Don't go saying nice things when you're drunk!"

"I've told you, I'm not drunk!" he leaped to his defense crabbily.

"Then why are you slurring?"

He ignored her jab and offered her a beer. "Wanna drink?"

"No!" she protested. "I'm underage, _thankyouverymuch_!"

Natsume frowned at her disapprovingly and stood from his chair. He sauntered to her and dragged her up as well. He offered a beer for the second time. "Relax will you?"

Mikan inched farther. "I-I can't relax! A-And don't get too close!" Mikan walked even farther. She needed more air. They were outside but somehow whenever Natsume got too close she found herself claustrophobic. Soon after ambling little by little, she found herself to the ship's edge.

"You've been avoiding me." he said. His somberness when he was alcohol-influenced surprised her. "Is it about yesterday? Amberlane? GPU? Persona?"

_GPU? Persona? Who? What? Doesn't this feel like déjà vu?_ She spun at him and felt her heart being pricked when she saw him looking at her sullenly. She sighed. "No." She smiled uneasily and fiddled with her hair. Definitely déjà vu. She had this kind of talk with Hotaru. "It's just that Koizumi-san's with you and I didn't want to ruin your good times with her."

"What good time?" He'd easily thrown out the grimmer topic away. "I've been itching to get her off. Good thing Imai put sleeping pills on her drink."

Mikan yet again sighed about the previous topic being tossed out. She didn't particularly like Luna being the topic. It was so awkward. But if he was more comfortable then she supposed she could bear it. "I thought Koizumi-san's your type?" she half-smiled. Then throwing her eyes to the ocean, she continued and half-mused, "What's your type then?"

He raised a suspicious brow. "Why suddenly interested?"

She flinched then awkwardly prodded her two index fingers together. "Just... curious..." she lied.

His brow shot higher but then decided to answer facetiously. "I like pretty and cute girls." he started.

_Basing your feelings by face value?! You jerk..._

"I like petites, I want to tower over them, I guess. I like food so she's got to be skillful in that field." He paused thoughtfully then shrugged. "That's all I guess."

Mikan looked upset. "That's all? How about being more specific?"

Natsume gave her a lopsided grin. "To self-insert yourself?" he teased.

Mikan coughed guiltily. "Curious!" she insisted. "Curious!"

He seemed unconvinced and continued to watch her gravely as he regard her request. "Long-haired with any shade of brown would do." He saw the repressed smile in her eyes. His body might've been drunk but his mind has high tolerance.

The girl was blatantly obvious that she liked him... in a more-than-friends sort of way. With this knowledge, he decided to play around with her. "Yes. Brown. Brunette would be a good shade and I want her hair slightly curly. She has to be cheerful too, and clumsy. I'm a fetishist after all. And oh—" He watched with amusement at Mikan's trying to be neutral face then lowered his eyes to her bosom. Seeing she was a wee bit flat, he continued, "I really don't care about breast size—" He ignored her 'pervert' side remark. "But the most important of all, the number one trait I've been looking for a girl is—" He paused, trying to give way for the inaudible drumroll and met her chocolate eyes. "She's got to be blue-eyed."

Her hope sunk.

He smirked.

Instantly moping, Mikan glowered at her reflection.

"Well what about you?"

She whipped her head to Natsume. "Hunh?"

"What's your type?"

He was teasing her, she knew it! But then, found the question very, _very_ appealing to answer. After all he was drunk, he probably wouldn't remember it by morning. And letting out her repressed feelings might lessen the burden she carried. "I used to like extremely nice guys. But then I decided I like adventurous guys more. After all, I was surrounded by incredibly nice people. I want something different for a change. One that could make me feel secure and safe and not bored. I want him to be humorous— be it dark or twister humor, it doesn't matter. If he's arrogant, I guess it's fine too. Maybe it just means he's got something to be proud of. As for the looks, I've always like dark-haired guys and his eyes..." she trailed off, as if already lost in her musing. "I want it to be piercing. The kind that a single look will make me go weak and—"

"He's been constant in your wet dreams, I bet."

"Anyway!" Mikan said, miffed for ruining her wholesome fantasy with his perverted mind. "Just like I've said, I like his eyes fiery! You know! Like the color—"

"Red." he finished for her, now smirking knowingly and condescendingly. "If I had known better _Princess_, I think you like me."

"W-What?!" she sputtered. "L-Like you!? I don't like you! Like he— N-Natsume?" She stopped waffling and immediately panicked when his face all of a sudden was getting alarmingly close to hers. "W-What are you doing?!"

"Hm?" he mumbled distractedly, enjoying the way she was helplessly being towered by him. Maybe he really liked petites... Seeing her completely petrified, he took advantage of it by holding her by her arms, steadying her trembling figure. He braced her against the railing and saw her shut her eyes real hard, waiting and trying to be ready for whatever he was planning to do.

Then he kissed her. Her mind started spinning and grew hazy that she thought she'd gone drunk as well. It was slow and lazy but ended fast. Way too fast that she found herself leaning unconsciously forward when he pulled away.

"You don't like me?" he drawled carefully, as if mulling over the thought. He regarded her stunned look and his lips quirked into a devious, cocky sneer. "Well, have fun denying it."

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** (Gets beaten for being mushy) _Ow!_

Excuse me for rule 8, as it's not exactly a rule, technically speaking. If you notice, it's a twisting of the pirate chant: Fifteen men on a dead man's chest— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. Anyway, be back probably after I've taken an exam for jobs... I didn't know I could work in office as long as I pass the test... probably they just need someone to make them coffee... ¬_¬

Fangs (geddit?! Fangs instead of thanks because it's goffik!— okay, enough private jokes... ¬_¬) to these people who reviewed:

Smoochynose, Wishing You Knew, milkylane18, BnWhites, crimsoneyes44, xXbunnyholicXx, pApAw, aegyo, JoiZ. D, StarAngel02, storylover1234, sugar-coated ichigo, loveangel_jm (_edited for privacy purposes_), rockerfaith, MoonCastic, stephmoomoo, shuuxharuka, 'FiReCaStEr-NaTsUmE', Mikan101, Orange Sorbet, Erilin-chan, Cute Pukite, chowchow-san, princess kuro koneko, Painless Dream


	9. The Big Boss

**Opening Note(s):** This was supposed-to-be up earlier this month but my dad banned me from computers. He hides the keyboard and the mouse. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! HE HIDES THEM! WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FIND SOMEONE LIKE THAT!

The new year's been bad to me... ¬_¬

(_This has been edited together with the following notes: _I'm really sorry and ashamed for the sloppy chapter nine. I was so disappointed at myself when I re-read it and was shamefaced that I submitted it. The latter parts were very lacking and there were parts that I thought the thought just suddenly jumped in. I was in a hurry those times 'cause I was afraid dad would catch me suspiciously crouching over something I shouldn't have (pun only half-intended). :P )

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter IX – The Big Boss

—

_Rule 9: Never judge a book by its cover.  
It might just be your boss._

—

—

Natsume dared them.

He dared them with his eyes.

He dared them with his tightened lips.

He dared them with his fist.

He dared _anyone_ of them to talk.

—Actually, he rather _wished_ someone would.

Specially when all of them were having a secret and a not-so-secret smile and of course save for a PMSing Sumire— And Tsubasa who grudgingly took out some of his bills and slumped it onto Koko's awaiting palm.

"_Erk!_ They kissed! They kissed! _Erk!_"

Koi was the first one to divulge what had happened, perhaps thinking he could escape his master's wrath just because he could fly. And sniggers followed soon enough.

"You kissed her." Tsubasa brazenly took the dare. The frown from his lost turned into a malicious grin seeing that catching Natsume on the spot was priceless and nothing compared to his lost bet. He began to circle around Natsume like how a predator does to intimidate and trap its prey. Natsume remained indifferent though, albeit Tsubasa's snooping was beginning to grate into his nerves.

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes slowly and attempted to gauge the real score behind Natsume's indifferent mask, or was there even a mask.

_That bird! I'm gonna show that hell-sent bird how to keep its mouth shut!_

With Tsubasa prancing around like a banshee, Natsume's patience snapped. He palmed Tsubasa's prying face and pushed it purposely with such spiteful force out of his sight. He folded his arms and his eyes before he could stop it, shifted to the camera Hotaru was holding aloft.

His temper began to flare up and palmed the lens of the camera just in case the tape was still rolling. "What were you doing?"

Hotaru easily got his hand off her cam. "Spying." she answered simply.

If he wasn't guarding and wary of his actions, his jaw would have dropped by now. "How can you say that so frankly?" he said, disbelief apparently clear and little by little losing self-control. He clucked his tongue to convey his vex and ruffled his hair, almost pulling it out. "Seriously, you people ought to get a life so you wouldn't bother spying someone else's." He gave each and everyone a reproachful look of disgust. He couldn't believe his 'minions' teamed up _against_ him! "Andou, weren't you supposed to be _pretending_ to be drunk?"

Tsubasa winced painfully and inwardly cursed Natsume for bringing it up. He was refusing to look at Misaki but inconveniently saw her at the corners of his eyes erupting at the very memory. Obviously, the perverted act wasn't on their script. He put up a sham grin, a pretence to make Misaki believe it was all planned out. "Sorry man," He put an arm across Natsume's shoulders. "It was Hotaru who planned to set the two of you alone."

Natsume attempted to elbow Tsubasa but Tsubasa expected a blow like that from him that he easily escaped its wrath. "But apparently not so alone, is it?"

"Aw. You don't have to be so disappointed." Tsubasa laughed as Natsume missed and kicked an empty air. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the right blow aiming for his cheek.

Glaring at Tsubasa with satisfaction, he bent his glare to the crew as if saying _Who's next_? Then noticed someone was missing in action. All of them were present save for his best friend. "Is Ruka involved with this shit?"

"Ruka-sama's got nothing to do with it." Sumire said, suspiciously sounding like she had lost someone dear and precious to her heart. "And me too! I was just dragged into this! I mean who wants to see that girl being—" She sputtered at first, seemingly unable to continue her defense then trailed off and began to cry conveniently against Koko's shoulder who in turn jokingly pat her head as he uttered, "_There... there... no need to cry_."

Natsume rolled his eyes at the drama. "All the trouble for this? You people are nuts. What's the point?"

There came murmurs from the crew, apparently didn't know the cause for all of that had happened.

"Yeah." Sumire furiously piped up, sniffing. Her face still half-buried to Koko's. "What's with all of us watching the whole thing? It's like watching an utterly cheesy drama. My throat was full of puke, thank you very much!"

"I thought you like drama." Koko said. A refute based on his experience.

Sumire lifted her face to eye Koko viciously for exposing her. "Stop contradicting me! I may like dramas but I don't like it when the heroine is someone like Mikan!" Sumire blinked. Then searched the whole area for the said girl. "Where's she anyway?"

Natsume inwardly smirked upon the memory of her running away aimlessly. Secretly proud he'd scared her for life. Although, frowned at Hotaru's comment that she probably washed her mouth for the germs.

"Tsk. Stop confusing the topic!" Misaki reproved, still irked at Tsubasa for deceiving her.

"Yeah, Hotaru, what's the cause?" Tsubasa concurred or more like tried to act indifferent towards Misaki.

Hotaru caressed her camera and gave each curious set of eyes a barely detectable smile. "This video will save us from bankruptcy."

"How?" they chorused with Natsume stressing his 'How' more. They didn't even know they were bankrupt. They did a lot of shopping the last time they docked.

"Can't and don't like to tell." she replied evasively then waved dismissively at them. "Night."

—

—

"How's your first kiss?"

Natsume suddenly coughed at his cup of coffee and glared to the probing Koko who was eating his cereals, sharing the breakfast table with him.

"Don't test me so early in the morning." Natsume warned tightly. His fingernails clawing on cover of the steamy novel he was reading.

Koko raised both of his arms in a surrendering fashion, chuckling. "Easy now. How come you're so crabby about it?" He grinned condescendingly. "I'm just curious how was it. I haven't kissed anyone in my life yet."

"And you dare assume that my case was no different than yours?"

Koko mock hummed in thought. "Actually yes. You don't seem to be the type to be kissing girls. Unless you like them."

"Is this some sly method to get me to say I like the princess?"

"No. You're just paranoid." he eluded with his never-to-die grin and played with his cereals until it was soggy but he liked it that way. "You're probably Mikan-chan's first kiss too. Aww. You shared your first kiss together!"

His eye twitched, his book and coffee, forgotten. "Your ideas are so warped. So what if I kissed her? I can do it again and again without feeling any likeness towards her."

Again, Koko made known that none of his excuses had worked on him. Which was grating Natsume's nerves and Koko could feel the cool air slowly turning muggy. "Will you give me the permission to read your mind then?"

Somehow and unexplainably, Natsume's brimming confidence deflated and was suddenly gone questionable. In irritation, Natsume banged the table just to show Koko who was _supposedly_ in control and sucked a pained breath of annoyance. "Just where the hell are the others that I have to endure breakfast with you!"

"Sorry." Koko smiled apologetically but Natsume knew better it was only up for a show. "You didn't seem to complain when you were with Mikan last night though."

His teeth began to grit and Koko slowly inched away and neared the door just in case he'd try to burn something. Obviously what Natsume didn't like most was to be outwitted. "Don't give me your psychological crap trap. Kissing someone doesn't mean you like her."

"Is it? Then can you kiss Misaki or Sumire for that matter? And haven't we already passed the kissing topic?"

Natsume momentarily froze at the thought but then there came a sudden glint in Natsume's eyes. Slowly, his mood began to brighten as he was reminded of Koko's weak spot. "Inwardly, you're hoping not Shouda right?" The slight wavering of Koko's grin made him smirk. "Instead of worrying who I like, why don't you worry about who you like?"

He went back to reading the book, knowing he'd won the round. "Then maybe _you_ could tell me how would your first kiss be." He chuckled wickedly at the very thought.

"And perhaps, if you're lucky, it'll be Shouda's first too."

—

—

Misaki yawned as she stretched out her arm. Her eyes half-lidded. She didn't get much sleep last night.

Blame it to Mikan who begged her to let her sleep in her room instead of Natsume's.

She had gladly accepted of course. In fact, she was about to offer her room in the first place. She believed a girl shouldn't be sleeping in a boy's room whether they like each other or not.

She had given her the comfy and spacious divan. She wouldn't have mind if Mikan joined her in her bed but she doubted Mikan wouldn't mind her tosses and turns.

Although later that night, it was Mikan who had unknowingly kept her up. The poor girl seemed to be traumatized about Natsume's selfish and manipulative kiss. She'd been counting sheep until she fell asleep.

Misaki reckoned Mikan was on the two-hundredth sheep when she fell asleep, not counting the ones she had previously counted and stopped midway for being confused and started all over.

Misaki hold onto the mast as she secured her position on the crow's nest, binocular at hand. She looked down at the control room and as per usual, no one was steering the ship. It was convenient having the ship on autopilot.

Turning her eyes to the sea, she inhaled contentedly, enjoying the view of the horizon. Then she saw a patch of land and from the way her eyes rounded in shock, it wasn't the place where they should be going.

—

Misaki, Tsubasa, Sumire, Koko and Mikan had their eyes rounded at the colossal structure before them.

Just a few hundred feet from the shore stood a building. It was big and high albeit not in the very least, grand. From afar, it looked like a pillar but in closer inspection, a structure called a door saved it from being one.

The crew continued to gawk dumbly at it. Obviously a stop over on that island wasn't what they've expected.

Misaki took a brave step forward, looking all around her. "Where are we?" she finally spoke the wonder the other's been asking themselves.

"GPU's Headquarters."

All heads turned in horror from the building to Luna.

"What?!" they chorused, chocking.

Luna waved a dismissing hand on them, rolling her eyes. "Oh shut it. You're all overreacting. Hotaru Imai knows all about this. Besides you don't expect me to swim my way here."

"Why do you have to drag us here? You left this island alone, it's only logical to go back here alone."

Luna scoffed and stared at Misaki as if she was dumb. "Logical? Are doing things the hard way logical? Besides the Superior wants to see all of you. Particularly the princess."

Everyone swallowed and began to perspire for some dark reason. "T-The Superior?"

It was Luna's cue to give them a Mona Lisa smile that unfailingly sent goosebumps to their backs. "Yes, the Superior. You've never seen him, have you?"

—

"Is the superior really that bad?" Mikan asked Misaki who was next to her. Her voice was a whisper but since the room was deathly quiet, her inquiry was heard by all.

All of them were stiff, edgy and pale that Mikan could easily tell that they were agitated. They've been told to wait for the Superior's arrival on a very white, very bright room. There was a very long cushion on the room but for some reason, the boys refused to sit on it and paced around the room.

The girls weren't doing well too. With Hotaru as an exemption, they've been staring at the wall clock and agonizingly watching the seconds tick away.

"Misaki-chan?"

Misaki jerked and turned her attention to the half-worried, half-curious Mikan. Misaki smiled at her, trying not to pass her nervousness to Mikan. "To be honest, I don't know. But he's very strict whenever we have our turfs."

Mikan pouted, pondering. "Well he's a boss so being strict is already given, isn't it? Have you seen him?"

Misaki shook her head. "No one has. Even Natsume doesn't have direct contact with him."

From the way Misaki uttered her words, it came clear to Mikan that they were all better off not seeing the inscrutable guy running the equally inscrutable organization. It was as if seeing him was like seeing hell. "Even Hotaru-chan?"

"That..." Misaki faltered, unsure, "...I'm not sure." Then in a much lower voice she continued, "She has her way of doing things. Honestly, the crew thinks she's the _real_ boss. Her orders overwrite Natsume, most of the time."

Mikan's eyes went to Hotaru who was frowning impatiently. Not agitated, not expectant, just impatient. "Wow. Hotaru-chan's so cool..."

Misaki followed Mikan's gaze and nodded in agreement.

"What do you imagine him to be like?"

Misaki paused to ponder and careful not to say something very offending. "Scary. Not too old, not too young. Very serious looking..."

They both fell oddly silent after that and in no less than a minute, the white doors that were almost invisible against the white walls burst open and two lines of men in white entered. All of them stood up in anticipation as the lines of men parted at a certain points to make an aisle for a blonde guy with a cheery face and a laughing blue eyes.

"Are you," Natsume started, at lost in his words and take a look on his crew to see identical stunned faces, "the Superior?"

"Why yes!" he answered lively, sounding like he was singing. "I'm Narumi!" He offered Natsume a handshake and bowed histrionically to the rest. "Nice to meet you everyone!"

Natsume coughed, still in disbelief and pulled away his hand that was still in his. His inborn man-detector radar rang in red-alert. "Are you really—?"

He kept a serious face at that, his lips quavering. When he couldn't hold it any longer, he burst, "No!" and laughed hysterically. "I sure had you going though!"

Natsume's eyes darken at the very instant and was about to strike the impostor if not for Misaki and Koko restraining him. It was a bad move trying to hit someone when the Narumi guy has so many bodyguards around him and Ruka was immediately trying to get in-between and played the part as a peace mediator.

"Ah yes. I've heard of your temper too." Narumi smiled at them. With a snap of his fingers, the men in white who was in fighting pose straightened and went back to their previous positions. "Let me introduce myself as me. I'm Narumi and I'm the Superior's right hand."

There came _Oooh_s and _Aaah_s from the girls, Koko and Ruka, and unimpressed deadpan from the rest. Then finally noticing that there was someone behind him, they all shifted their look from Narumi's tall figure to the small one holding Narumi's hand.

It was a child, no more than five years old. He had hair color that was a cross between red and grey and his eyes were big and green. He had a cute grimace on and dressed in black suit. He even had a tie.

"A child dressed as a grown-up! How cute!" Mikan squealed fanatically. Misaki and Sumire would have agreed if not for the dark aura oozing from him. If there was someone going to ask what Natsume looked like when he was a child, Misaki would definitely point this child out.

Mikan stooped to the white-carpeted floor and gestured at the child to come to her. The child merely gave a snort and averted his eyes away from her.

Undeterred, Mikan looked up to Narumi. "Is he yours?"

"No. He's mine." Luna suddenly made her presence known and walked possessively to the child to give him a hug and showered him with kisses.

Everyone gaped if not _almost_ gaped at the scene.

"You mean you're a mother already?!" someone in high-pitched voice exclaimed. No one dared to claim whose inquiry was it— or rather whose embarrassing high-pitched voice was it.

"What?" Luna straightened from her position, taking the child aloft with her. "Of course not you—" The child began to struggle away from her grasp. "What's wrong?"

The child hauled up a finger, as if reprimanding Luna. "You're smothering and embarrassing me, that's what!" he spoke. The voice was oddly gruff and cute. "What have I told you about hugging publicly?"

Luna sobered immediately and reluctantly put the child down.

Everyone blinked. And everyone thought of the same.

_What in the nine hell's going on?!_

The child straightened his suit and walked closer to them like a penguin with his chubby body.

"I thought I could toy around with you and momentarily entertain myself with your foolishness but I'm not finding this amusing any more." The boys had to stifle a rude laugh at the 'play tough' attitude the brat was exuberating. The child in return glared at them. "The name's Youichi Hijiri. Greater Peace Union's Superior." He paused to smile vindictively at them. "Nice to meet you."

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** A little insulin for the diabetes I've caused you last chapter. :D

It's shorter than my usual chapters but the next shall be longer than this cause it'll be time for revelations. ZOMG! XD  
About three or more chapters before the finale! Stick with me, 'kay?

**Questions/Answers/Clarifications from reviews:**

**is the trick in not tearing when cutting onion true??**

_- Yup. I've googled it and a lot have been telling me about that trick. I've tried it also myself! But the best way is to refrigerate it._ :D

**were u the one making the rules?**

_- Yep. Yep. There are some though like rule eight, that I've taken from the known phrases and twisted it. Another example will be... rule three. The curiosity killed that cat, if you remember._

**is nonoko, anna and yuu appearing in this story??**

Not on my plans but I might need them. :D

**Is-Natsume-Drunk questions:**

_Wouldn't it be nice if he wasn't? XD  
Let's just say he was a bit fuddled but not thoroughly drunk._

Thanks for these people who took their time to review!

My Hopeless Romantic, stephmoomoo, anni, storylover1234, StarAngel02, kara nightingale, jubelle, Hysterical Cookie, milkylane18, crimsoneyes44, Erilin-chan, xXStarryangelzXx, MoonliteShadow101, BnWhites, babee-angel, ichigocake, xAnimex, MoonCastic, JoiZ. D, loveangel_jm, aegyo, angelswisho7, morgan w. anderson, Ljserpent, rockerfaith, pApAw, oObroken-wingsOo, vertique.., tangerinegirl13, HarunaNiwa073, teh-crazeh-one, rin awayuki, sweet scribe 14

If your name doesn't show up and you did review, kindly inform me. Sometimes ffnet deletes some stuffs from my original docu. Especially the ones with grammar issues... although it might have been just a lame excuse of mine. XD


	10. Gray

**Opening Note(s):** I decided to edit the last two chapters because I felt it was so... rushed and clichéd. There are a few scenes that I added and changed to make the transition less apparent. It was so crappy that I was ashamed I posted it. I hope with this, I could lessen my shame. Please bear with me.

Chapter 10 that was once two chapters merged into one was now un-merged. One of the reasons for merging these chapters was because I've already anticipated that if I won't, this story will end with 14 chapters. And I don't like the number 14. I'm pretty OC when it comes with that. So I decided to end it with 13 but it was a big mistake. With two chapters merged, I've deleted scenes to make it shorted— the result was it, making sloppy. Sorry. :)

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter X – Gray

—

_Rule 10: The line next to you will move more quickly than the one you're in. That's because the line to hell's a lot more crowdy._

—

—

He expected him to be on a highchair.

"Hyuuga," Youichi snapped a finger across Natsume's face, trying to get his attention. "Are you listening to this important discussion?"

Natsume looked at him blankly, acting disoriented. His chin was resting on his upturned palm and his posture deliberately poor and definitely rude especially in a strict conference. He aligned his posture as if regarding Youichi for the first time then back to curl as he waved an offhand hand. "Whatever."

Youichi sucked air through his gritted teeth and clenched his already clenched fists further. Half surrendering, he pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to ebb away the irritation. This was the very reason why he detested making his appearance. And he would never get used to this. He decided to go from general to specific, to try to redeem whatever Natsume's group thought of GPU. "Let me tell you something."

Youichi gestured at the painting of a man with graying hair in an army general's uniform. Natsume stared at the image jadedly. He knew the kid would be telling him the story of his ancestry and how the organization started— the doubts of the people; belittling his ancestor's ability to run a high-cost organization; the hard work; the support from the well-trusted advisers.

All those clichéd mumbo-jumbos.

"That's my great grandfather, the founder of this organization." Youichi captioned the painting with pride whilst Natsume gave an arrogant snort for being able to figure what was going to happen. Seeing as he already knew what was coming, he began whirling on his chair, leaning back his head to clearly express he wasn't listening anymore and was bored to death.

Youichi closed his eyes, only letting his anger seep inside and refusing to see Natsume's blatant disrespect. Others had disrespected him, but no one disrespected him as deliberate and brazen as Natsume.

_More of this and hell's gate will open._ Narumi thought worryingly. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He was a lover, not a fighter. He silently prayed this whole meeting be over soon.

Youichi tried again. He modulated his voice and raised it to a notch higher and more dangerous. He was giving him a subtle warning. "As I was saying, my great grandfather, Tetsuma Hiijiri, was the founder of this organization. There were a lot of skeptics about how this group would continue to run. It needed— _needs_ high maintenance, especially on research and equipment. Fortunately, with the help and support of reliable advisers, people and industries slowly came to invest and sponsor, realizing our mission of doing the world a favor. We reunite the world—"

"Cause wars and kill people. Nice." Natsume cut in, masking his words of defiance and anger with his sarcasm.

A loud wham on the table came and it was from Youichi reaching his limit. He started with too much indiction of words. "We kill people—"

"Yeah, yeah, got it. For the so-called _Greater Good_." Natsume made a big imaginary banner up in the air to emphasize his derision. He heard the slogan so many times and he hated it a lot. It was a euphemism, a justification of the unacceptable work of the organization. "That's very plausible and reasonable; risking wars, civilians to be exact, to get what you want. The end justifies the means, yeah?"

A sinister smirk came across Youichi's face and Narumi winced painfully knowing that the superior was starting to retaliate. "Oh I'm sorry. I forgot you're pro-life, Mr. I-killed-people-when-I-was-ten." He paused triumphantly, knowing he'd managed to hit a tender spot. "Can't you see how much of a hypocrite you are? Having a different view from yours or from the majority of the world, doesn't make us incorrect. Your standards, aren't the world's nor should anyone confirm with it. It's like choosing a religion—"

"Oh please. What do you know about it?"

"Enough to use it as an example, apparently."

Misaki wanted to cover her ears from the toxic talk but decided to run an exasperated palm across her face instead. "Someone please stop them..." she groaned next to Ruka, hoping he could take a hint.

"Don't look at him. He can't do anything at this point." Koko chirped over Ruka to Misaki.

"I'm very offended." Ruka said with a tight lip, brushing Koko away lightly and ready to step up to prove Koko wrong.

Koko pulled him back. "My apologies." Koko uttered playfully, putting a hand over his right chest as if solemnly vowing an unbreakable promise and slightly tipped his head. "But leave it to the expert to do the job." He pointed at Hotaru, who was across the table with his mouth, hailing her as the expert.

Ruka merely brushed his eyes over Hotaru, refusing to let it linger a little more than it should. "How come I can't be the expert?" he half sulked and begrudgingly saw Koko's point. Although it was hurting his male ego that a girl does a thing better than him. Especially Hotaru— since she was better than him in everything. A girl like her was scary. Yet, he liked being with her. Heck, he _liked_ her a lot. It was like the thrill someone get when watching a horror movie. You don't want it yet you want it. It was such a complicated emotion.

Confused with his own logic, he turned back his attention at Koko, trying to remember what was the last thing he said.

Koko shrugged helplessly, acting as if he hadn't heard his private musings. "You can't just be an expert just because you've decided you wanted to be. Believe me, if it is, I would have been a sexgod."

Ruka gave him a hesitant and dubious stare, not allowing any disturbing image at the implication of his words.

"What? I'm just joking." Koko grinned affably. "Besides, you're the soft type. You'll just get squashed if you jump into a pit full of lions."

Ruka pouted. "The squash thing hurts, you know. How would you feel if I tell you to go jump into the pit yourself and let's see who gets squashed?"

Koko faked a mother's exaggerated gasp. "Where'd you get that tongue? You're spending too much time with Natsume."

"He's my best friend." Ruka explained simply, a little self-satisfied for being able to retort. It felt good. Someday he'd try it on Hotaru. He sighed, dispelling the idea. "Just because I look docile, I can't have any hostilities..."

"Aw. Cheer up. I'm not saying you can't be hostile, I'm only saying Hotaru's the expert. Look," he gestured at the congregation, discussing something they had only been aware up until now, "All's back to normal."

And it was but it was only temporary for the reason that Youichi couldn't seem to let go of defending the morality level of their group.

"Like I said, our method might not be acceptable for you. Our organization might've seemed immortal but we're humans too. You're all selfish to claim that only you could feel remorse for all of these. We kill, extort and even indirectly working with our enemy to know what he's up to and it's all for the greater good." He paused dramatically, eying Mikan significantly. "Just look at this innocent princess. I doubt she has any idea why she's here, do you princess?"

Mikan shifted uncomfortably at the sudden swing of everyone's attention from Youichi to her. She was about to ask what was it again but her memory began to remind her. It was a rhetorical question but she was afraid her silence would have a negatice effect on Natsume and others. "I— uh. I'm not sure."

When Youichi leered, she wanted to retract her statement. Silence was better.

But it was too late, it was the type of answer he had wanted to hear. Gaining control of the situation and conversation, he felt confidence flowing into his veins again and joined his fingers into a high triangular steeple. "Not sure or you don't know?"

Silence was her answer. She refused to look at him afraid he'd suddenly jump off his sheep skin and reveal a wolf, almost literally. The cute, cuddly child earlier has turned into someone— _something_ scarily daunting. His body was infinitesimal but his shadowy aura was gargantuan.

"Ah." Youichi declared, mock on his tone and nodded arrogantly as if he perfectly understood everything. "But you don't run away, meaning you're already attached. You easily trust, don't you?"

Mikan was slowly shrinking on her seat, feeling foolish for feeling intimidated by a mere child. She had never questioned her actions until now. Heck, she was never the type to philosophically ask things. She was curious but it was superficial, seldomly leaving the skin-deep stage. And people only tend to question when things go wrong, not when things go right.

The idea hit her and caused her buoyancy of self-assurance. She was _enjoying_ their company. With her 'captors' she doesn't feel trapped. That was why escaping never occurred to her. She began to open her mouth, to almost defiantly answer back but then her gaze fell on Natsume and her confidence dropped, ashamed to confess.

_What if they don't feel the same?_

_What if they treat me 'nicely' because they have to?_

_What if it is one-sided..._ She took another peek at Natsume. When he was, at usual, being hard to figure, she shied away. She decided to say the safest answer. "They're good people..." she mumbled.

Youichi was studying her closely. "Of course they are," he said slowly, condescendingly. "They kidnapped you but it doesn't mean they wanted to."

"Hey." Natsume cut thickly through Youichi, snapping his fingers across the kid's face. "Don't forget; we're still here."

"Right." Youichi interlaced his fingers, pretending to move back to business. "Sorry. My jaw muscles just move."

"Of course." Natsume mimicked his condescending tone earlier. He was feeling the urge to move Mikan away from the uncomfortable hot seat. He had his fair share of intense interrogation and someone blameless like Mikan doesn't deserve it one bit. "Standard protocol when interrogating. Your man did that to me, that Mouri guy to be exact. He also brainwashed me, convinced you were there to help me only to find myself condemned to work to hell."

"Not again with these two..." Misaki beefed, slapping a palm against her forehead.

—

"Persona-san's objective for uh... kidnapping Princess Mikan is..." Narumi's eyes went in every direction, obviously unsettled and when he thought nobody noticed, peeped down for the nth time at his files. If he had known he'd play a role in the discussion he should have made some practices on how to elaborate the information, done reviews and organized his folder more.

Usually, he liked to take the limelight and enjoy all the attention. But that was because he knew he was well prepared. But the information came in only moments after Natsume and the crew's arrival that he had no time to cram unorganized and parcels of data into a decent, presentation-perfect thesis.

His eyes traveled over Youichi, trying to ask for help but he knew the superior at the moment was incapable of saying anything seeing that his and his adversary's mouths have adhesive tapes over it.

"It's okay if you read it. We won't mind." Ruka urged gently, smiling pleasantly.

Narumi's eyes sparkled with instant tears of joy as he nodded gratefully and looked down at his files to make sense out of it. "Persona-san's objective for kidnapping the princess is the... alice stone."

A flash of perplexed silence came and Natsume did the honor of breaking it—

"Mm?! Mmph hnr rr hhng mbrph!"

—In a not so honorable way.

Koko grinned at Natsume, as Tsubasa, Misaki and even Ruka caged their laughs with their hands. With Natsume's vile mouth sealed, Tsubasa envied Koko for being the 'Chosen One', the one who shall enjoy the joy of being his interpreter. "What Natsume means to say is how come? Haven't Persona got already a handful of those since our reward is one?"

_Close enough_, Natsume thought with dark relief. His interpreter liked to paraphrase a lot that he was worried Koko would say something he didn't say.

Youichi picked up his notepad and wrote, his stokes livid and hard, with his fountain pen saying: '_This is an insult!_'

A side of Hotaru's lips tugged upward, the perfect mediator. "Amazing isn't it? Only the one who attached that to you, could take it off." She gestured at Narumi to continue. "Proceed."

Narumi smiled awkwardly at Hotaru to regard her. He knew she was not the girl to mess up with. Getting his momentum, he spoke again, "If you're familiar with world history, you know that once, there was a war in Princess Mikan's home, Frayland. The reason was a mystery to others but it is our doing that the public knows little about it. We want to bury the cause so we can protect and prevent people of Frayland from greedy hands. The cause of war was this awfully rare stone." Narumi paused for air and starting to gain a story-teller's aura. He knew this part real well that he didn't have to check on his files. "In this once small village, was an ancient clan. An all-female clan."

"Probably extinct. I mean how do they reproduce?" Tsubasa commented with a sneer in his voice. The all-female thing didn't appeal well to him soon after he heard it. If it was _harem_, well, he could consider.

"Are you daft?" Sumire's trademark sharp tongue snapped who was all the while twirling her hair until now. "They're females. As long as there are men to copulate with them, they'll survive."

Narumi smiled blandly. "Exactly what Shouda-chan said. This tribe was said to give birth to females only and shun males. They thought they were vile and evil and so could not be trusted. They view the male population only as means of reproduction. But it was said that most of the members of the tribe were extremely beautiful and exotic that men, even at their time, were easily manipulated by lust."

A scoff from the female listeners came as if they, in chorus, exclaimed in their minds _Men!_

"More like a cult." Tsubasa wasn't backing up the fight. It was annoying him that some females viewed men were as shallow as that. Although deep inside, he knew it was partially true. Who said the women were the ones who always got manipulated? Men were suckers for women. It was just that most women were playing nice and fragile that they didn't know how to use their wiles.

"This was the old times, you know? Their way is different from us. Just like what Youichi-kun was trying to point out, just because they had a different point of view from us, it doesn't make them wrong..." Narumi trailed off slowly when he noticed Hotaru was sending him a drop-it warning. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the niggling feeling of fear of Hotaru. "Anyway, this family clan were said to use practice dark arts— or in our modern term, alice."

"You don't mean our alices came from the devil, do you?" Misaki asked, suddenly disturbed and at the same time concerned. She wasn't the religious type but she didn't like the idea of being a devil's advocate.

"No. What I mean is that is how our ancestors viewed it. Unlike back then, they thought alice was learned but now we knew it is not so. They didn't know a thing about Genetics nor did they know something like that existed. As it is known now, thanks to science, alice can't be learned, only passed through the genes." He paused momentarily to let them reprocess the information. "This clan, is one of the few clans who could use alice. That was the clan's secret. They kept together to protect the ability and themselves from being killed."

"Because people viewed it as dark arts..." Ruka mused and construed loudly. He remembered in history books that people who were said to practice dark arts were burned at steak, lynched or tortured.

"Exactly." Narumi's face was suddenly dim as if he lived in those dark times but hadn't done a thing to stop the genocide. "Historians believed that the fourth and fifth generation started this exclusion because they thought that the alice-bearers appear in a random order. So to keep track with the bloodline, they were bound to a rule of one child. After research, we found out that the gene's choice of the next alice-bearer wasn't random but rather in a neat progressive order. The sum of the last two generations determines when will a bearer be born."

"Fibonacci." Hotaru provided a term quite helpfully.

"Yes. And Princess Mikan of Frayland according to research happened to be the eleventh generation, the one hundred forty fourth descendant."

Mikan choked and everyone in the room gawped at her tentatively. Misaki had more of a concerned look and even Natsume who was all the time, barely listening, went rigid and ogled at the petite and innocent girl.

Mikan was utterly whipped, her face blanched and stark white, her mouth agape. She suddenly looked around frantically, like she _needed_ someone to suddenly burst laughing and say it was all a joke.

Natsume came rattling on his tape, struggling to strip it. When it didn't work, he began pointing livid fingers at Youichi.

"He says: This is impossible! This girl can't be special!" Koko translated then as an assumed to be Natsume's addendum, he added, "Well she's special to me but that's not the point."

An angry spark suddenly came from Natsume's fingers and everyone instantly knew Koko was only joking and attempting to kill the zipped atmosphere.

Narumi leaned over the table, staring intently at Mikan. His eyes and voice were earnest and kind, wanting to break it as gently as possible. "You know why alice stones are extremely rare— on the brink of extinction?" He watched her shook her head slowly and her vulnerability made him walk to her and smoothed her cold, stiff hands. "It's because the ones making it are rare and in this time you're not even part of one in a million, you're one of your kind. You die and alice stones are gone." Then he momentarily glanced at Natsume and giggled giddily, making her smile a little. "Of course if you copulate with someone and have a baby then the bloodline lives but we all have to wait for another hundred-odd years, and it'll be rarer than before. Persona isn't _quite_ immortal to wait that long. Neither does he have the patience to wait." He cupped her face and lifted it up to meet his eyes. "My child, you are special."

"B-But." Mikan managed to get her voice to float up, breaking away the eye-contact. It was really surreal. In a way she once thought she was special. But in a way of being an heir to a throne, not being an heir to an alice she never thought she had. She'd like to admit though, it was something cool, if she had discovered it in a different circumstance. In a circumstance where there is all-play, not as life and death as what the situation was. She thought Persona only wanted her for some trifling ransom. "My mother never told me this before... she should know... I couldn't..."

"She knows. I've researched about you." Luna's chilly voice chimed in, giving Mikan a cold stare. "She's been protecting you and never planned on telling you the secret, wanting to bury the facts of the alice stone and let everyone think of it as an interesting myth." She let out her trademark smile of cruelty. "But you were ungrateful. Ranting about how she'd been hard on you then ran away with a complete stranger. You, _my dear_," she sneered, "have once revolting attitude of facing problems. Teenagers these days..."

Narumi winced painfully at Luna and poorly attempted to mental telepathy, pleaded her not to say anymore.

Mikan was crying already, seeing Luna's point, no matter how cruelly she'd put it. Misaki was shushing her, cradling her in her arms. Hotaru was glaring daggers at Luna and Narumi. The meeting was slowly slipping out of her control.

Feeling it was all his fault, he looked contritely at Hotaru and decidedly turned the topic back to where it was subjective and not objective. He decided to talk to everyone rather than to talk to Mikan only. "This alice can condense life-force and solidify it. If it's used on an ordinary person, it could probably make a compound made of carbon, potassium and other components of a human body. But if it's an alice-yielder, this alice could make this intangible power, into something tangible. Persona wants it. For that purpose, we still don't know but most probably," he gave a vague shrug, "World domination?" He offered a tensed smiled.

"Is this dangerous? Can it... kill?" the break on her voice was hard to miss and she was shaking as she subconsciously wrung her wrist restlessly.

"Oh sweet child..." Narumi sighed then smiled reassuringly. "You're just sapping a part of a person's energy. It's not like they'll literally turn to ash. They'll be as fit as a fiddle after eating a few as if they only donated blood."

"Stop sugarcoating." Luna censured Narumi. "Yes you can kill. _Any_ alice that is used improperly can kill. If you can't control it, you'll possibly drain all of a person's life-force."

—

It had gotten almost out of control after that. Luna was unstoppable, pointing out how each alice, given a circumstance could kill. Even as Koko's thought to be harmless alice could. Finally, when Hotaru couldn't take it, she called the meeting off and let Youichi give instructions on how to take on Persona.

It was clear: Take her to Persona but don't let him take her.

When it was over, everyone was relieved and rushed back to the port to prepare for departure. Only Hotaru chose to stay for an epigrammatic leader to leader talk.

Hotaru folded her arms, her lips pressed together and her aura was screaming _I am so pissed_. She had obviously intimidated Youichi and Narumi. Luna was next on her list and she was going to kill her now. "Your girl's a total blab."

Youichi begrudgingly wrote on his paper for a reply: '_Do you mind?!_' he gestured at his tape.

Hotaru composedly and purposively yanked off the tape.

Youichi bit off the yelp of sting. "Luna said what she had to say."

"So you can recruit her?" she retorted knowingly.

Youichi leered dodgingly. "Our goal for now is to bring down Persona. Termination of our contract is two more years from now but your group can lie-low after the Persona issue."

"Hands off _my_ crew." Hotaru asserted, not allowing him to change the topic. "Mikan Sakura's stay may only be provisional but as long as she is on _my_ ship, she is part of the crew. Until then, I cannot allow squalid conscription. By the way," Hotaru dug her hand into her pocket and came out with videotape at hand. She tossed it to Youichi. "The evidence that I've won the bet."

Youichi looked at the videotape as if it was Persona and chucked it to Narumi. He had enough bad experience of tapes already. "I've told you not to initiate romantic bets." he reprimanded him lightly.

Narumi twirled around, dancing around with the tape. "Can't help it, it's in my blood!"

"It was good. Want to watch it?"

"Me? No. But I'm sure Narumi does..." Youichi sighed, massaging his temples. He needed a break. Hotaru's presence and schemes always brought the worst in him.

"Poor darling." Luna purred to his side and gently kneaded his temples. "I'm sorry I failed you for this simple job... If only I tried harder."

Youichi put a hand over Luna's, rubbing it affectionately. "It's okay."

"Urgh." Hotaru averted her eyes, not intending to hide her disgust. "You two are so sick and disturbing."

"You know my condition." Youichi immediately leaped to their defense, staring at her dourly. "This is the price I paid for being so naïve. That Persona deceived me."

"So this is all-about revenge? What happened about the _greater good_?"

"This _is_ about the greater good _and_ rectifying past mistakes. Look at me, I'm a hundred years of age yet I look like a child. People used to account me for my wisdom but now, they don't take me seriously. I look vulnerable and they think I'm just fooling around. That's why I can't show myself anymore." he sighed, as he cradled his head, pain shooting up again.

"Don't hold back the tears now." Hotaru mocked. "I pity you really, you have a seemingly young wife who's as old as you yet your body deceives you. On the outside, you're skin's like a baby's, inside, your organs are old and malfunctioning already. I doubt you even get an erection."

Youichi's grandpa instincts kicked in and eyed her, reproaching.

"What? Want censorship? It's not like there's a child—" Hotaru paused mockingly, "Apologies. I forgot you _are_."

"I'm warning you—"

"What are you going to do? Throw your pacifier at me? Times have changed Hiijiri. What you've deceived eight years ago aren't kids anymore. Your ghost you can summon with your alice is summoning you back to join them."

"We're not the bad guys Imai, you know that!" Luna's furious voice said. Taking a step towards her, trying to intimidate her.

Hotaru was undaunted, equally taking a step and another. If it was a battle of intimidation she was secure she would win. "Perhaps. But I'm done taking orders and empty threats. And who are you anyway to butt into this? You may be the GPU's superior's wife but in this organization, you're merely a pawn."

Luna almost gaped, slowly losing her composure. "And you think you're not?"

"No." Hotaru answered simply. "This organization is nothing to me. You need us more than we need you. In fact, we don't need you at all." She didn't wait for Luna to make her comeback, labeling her now as insignificant, she turned at Youichi. "This time I call the shots. Now off that stupid added tax of yours and minimize our tax to five percent."

"The deal of winning the bet was only to lift the added tax. You're greedy."

"I am but so are you. Your misery is a proof."

Youichi ogled at Hotaru, regarding her severely with his eyes. Then as Hotaru went to left, he said, "If that's the case, you'll be miserable too."

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** If you're familiar with the Murphy Laws this and the other rule shouldn't sound alien. :D

YouichiLuna is a kind of a weird but at the same time plausible pair since they both could shift ages. Don't worry, I haven't lost it. I'm not a fan of it... I'm not even sure if there exits a fan of the two. X3


	11. Oysters and Bombshells

**Opening Note(s):** I decided to edit the last two chapters because I felt it was so... rushed and clichéd. There are a few scenes that I added and changed to make the transition less apparent. It was so crappy that I was ashamed I posted it. I hope with this, I could lessen my shame.

Chapter 10 that was once two chapters merged into one was now un-merged. One of the reasons for merging these chapters was because I've already anticipated that if I won't, this story will end with 14 chapters. And I don't like the number 14. I'm pretty OC when it comes with that. So I decided to end it with 13 but it was a big mistake. With two chapters merged, I've deleted scenes to make it shorted— the result was it, making sloppy. Sorry. :)

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter XI – Oysters and Bombshells

—

_Rule 11: The place you're looking for will be located at the most inconvenient place on the map such as an edge, a corner, near a fold— or even just above a bomb._

—

—

The beetle struggled under Natsume's strong fingers as the fire-caster knotted a yarn to the insect's body. When he was finished, he rolled the free-end of the yarn around his index finger and secured it with his thumb. Counting down slowly, he raised the thread and when the count downed to zero, swung it in a clockwise direction.

"Fuck." he cursed casually when the poor beetle sprung out of its ties and flew.

A passerby suddenly caught it and immediately a girly shriek that Natsume never thought she possessed, erupted. It was Misaki. "Oh damn it. I thought it was cockroach." She fingered the beetle firmly and with distain whilst Natsume leered at her as he propped a palm open. "You too?" She clucked her tongue. "Where'd you get those bugs?" She watched Natsume re-slip the bug back to the loop. "And what are you doing?"

"Training. We got the bugs from the brat's place."

"Training?" she echoed. "That's ridiculous. For what?"

"Tournament. _Kabuto Sumo_. And it's not ridiculous."

"Maybe not ridiculous but definitely childish. You're eighteen and you still play with bugs?"

"You could try telling that too to Koko, Andou and Ruka."

Tsubasa and Koko, she knew but Ruka? "Ruka-san too? Tsk. Boys."

"No. We're _men_ and we're bored like hell. Now head off you. You're interrupting Red Anthem's training."

Misaki silently watched Natsume tied his beetle, this time, to a rock. She sighed. "Are you boys really as thick-skinned as this? You're training— playing bugs whilst Mikan is sulking here somewhere in this ship. You of all people should have known how it feels. Maybe you're rationalizing that it was Persona's fault— or hers also because at one point she came voluntarily. It's a scary situation Natsume, to be in the middle of—"

Natsume's throwing of the stone with the beetle made Misaki stop. It was plain to her that she was overrunning his way of doing things and that pissed him off. She had implied he was being insensitive. He was a very touchy person and perhaps, she quickly thought, this was his own way of brooding.

Misaki let a long surrendering sigh. "I'm sorry... But please, if there's someone here on the ship that could cheer her up, it would be you."

When Natsume looked up to say some feigned nasty comeback, she was gone.

—

—

He was telling himself he was looking for Red Anthem, his beetle.

He started with the upper deck, his eyes merely sweeping through the floor. He didn't even trouble himself searching the corners. Slowly, the places to look at were eliminated one by one and he found himself searching his _beetle_ at his room.

His eyes yet again swept briefly through it, stopping momentarily to stare at his still broken window. An involuntary lopsided smile came at a memory of a girl who jumped through his window, trying to act like a prince charming of some sort. When he realized he was smiling, he grunted. It had been happening for a lot of times now, smiling to himself. That girl was slowly mangling his mental state.

He ambled to his bathroom and tentatively turned the knob.

The girl who broke his window was sitting down the toilet bowl, cradling her face with her hands.

Natsume awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Hey." he started quite lamely, obviously playing cool. She had never seen her so depressed before and somehow it was unnerving him and making him uncomfortable.

She looked up at him, trying to look at him as straight-faced as possible. "Hey." she impersonated his greeting with a weak smile.

"Don't you know how to lock?" he said, feigning irritation and upon noticing where she was at, averted his eyes.

Mikan blew her nose, glancing at his direction and awkward stance. "Sorry... and it's okay, I'm just sitting on it..."

"Whatever." he stalled, at lost of what to say. He wasn't good at comforting people and Mikan to him seemed okay enough.

Mikan slowly smiled sadly at him. "Aren't you gonna say something?" she said, a little hopeful for a conversation.

Natsume watched her. Misinterpreting her smile as a _knowing_ one— that he didn't really merely stumbled into the bathroom looking for some bug. Now aware he wasn't acting like his usual self, he decided to play spiteful and added a bit of his truculent personality. He sneered at her.

"You really hack me off. You're so damned obvious, I've got you all figured out. You came to my bathroom, leaving it unlocked so I could comfort you. You're so desperate."

Her eyes shot up and widened in shock, demoralized at his indictment. He was on the verge of being nice a while ago and now he was trying to put some dirty meaning on the situation. "You're so mean!" she shrieked, her tears falling yet again, her hurt renewed. "Why do you have to taint every little thing? I just wanted to be comforted!"

He inwardly winced. Maybe he had gone too far. Yet he couldn't turn back. "Comforted? You're barking at the wrong tree." He folded his arms and averted his head, discreetly watching her out of the corner of his eye.

She had tried in vain to stop her crying just to prove him he was wrong about her. And just seeing how hard she tried, her welling tears, her puffed cheeks, her short hiccups; he couldn't help but to inwardly groan and curse himself for slowly turning into a mush.

He wanted to comfort her and stop pretending like some overly spiteful bastard.

He knew he was going to regret it sooner or later but his body was already drawing near to her to regress. It was flattering, her gesture. It was always him who had constantly needed comfort. He needed constant assurance that it was all-okay. He was always the one who took and took but never gave, that all the spaces in him was already filled-in. He needed to load out heavily what was so full in him.

"Okay." he said stiffly, weirded out with his own actions. This must be a nightmare of some sort he'd come right off. He hoped. "Come here..." he muttered, half-hoping she wouldn't hear. When she somehow perked up, looking at him curiously, he knew she did so he added defensively, "But I'm not an expert so don't expect much."

Mikan continued to stare at him with, trying to discern his actions. Then being more of a forgetful person than a forgiving one, she was gradually touched by his _not-really_ touching words. Overwhelming emotions made her lurched at him suddenly that Natsume lost his balance and banged his head rather stridently at the door. Thankfully not much of his already _thinning_ saneness had gone. He slipped down slowly, using the door as a support and dragging Mikan down with him. Thank heavens the tiles were dry or he'd get more than just a wet shirt.

"I'm so sorry..." she started saying softly and quietly, sniffling as she buried her face at his shirt, clutching at his sides. When he didn't complain, she began clutching his shirt desperately, self-instilling comfort. "I'm so sorry for being such a hypocrite! I'm sorry for criticizing you that you're callous about your mother when I too, at one point was! I miss my mama! I thought it was because she wanted to constrict me even after marriage! Now things got out of hand and I could kill people!" She bawled louder. "I don't want to kill anyone!"

He was only half-listening to her, only catching up the keywords. Patting her head awkwardly distracted him. He was supposed to do that, right? Besides, he needed that distraction desperately. Being so close to a girl was making his hormones react wildly. He had never thought she had this effect on him. His flirting of her was always more on playful, teasing side because of the knowledge she liked him. A covert way of telling her _Dream on!_ and he prided himself for being in-control.

Now his control was straining and he cursed Mikan, thinking she was one sly girl. But he knew it was pretty unlikely. She was never the type to seduce. In fact, he was the one who was being a big jerk now, thinking irrelevant, guy 'stuffs', whilst she was pouring all her heart to him.

"You won't and you simply can't. There's no point worrying over it."

"My family caused wars!"

He frowned disapprovingly yet pleased that he was now slowly gaining control. "No they don't." he countered. "It was the people who wanted that alice. Besides, you weren't even born that time."

"I don't want to kill people!"

Natsume deadpanned. Whatever had possessed him to comfort her, could anyone remind him that? "Haven't we gone past that already?"

"I know! I just want to repeat it for emphasis!"

If anything, he deadpanned further and stopped patting her head, searching for her face buried somewhere in his shirt. "Are you still upset or are you only faking now?"

"I don't want to die!!!" she bawled again and Natsume rolled his eyes, his sympathy already parched dry.

Sometimes she was endearing but most of the times she was annoying. And if there were people with short patience, there must also be people with short-lived sympathy. He must be one of them.

"I'm still young! I want to live! See my mom! I want to have a boyfriend whom I shared my first kiss with, get married and have kids!"

_Awkward_. "That... wasn't so subtle."

"No!" she beat his chest. "What I mean is my first _consensual_ kiss! Don't be so egotistical!"

"How come the topic's me now?"

She went on babbling. "You will never understand me! Never!"

He snorted. If there was someone in this world who was easy to understand, it was her. "Of course I understand you. But that's because you're so easy to read. You're an open book with big bold fonts."

"And you're like an age-old book in a museum enclosed in a cylindrical glass that would set off an alarm if taken away and those pages were so faded, no one even with 20-20 vision could read it and even if it was readable, the language was unheard of!"

Natsume blinked, slightly amused. "That's... very detailed."

"Of course! I'm not _as_ stupid as you think I am!"

"I know." he said, suddenly solemn. "But you're so naïve..."

"How come you say that?"

"Because you like me too much that you're blinded by it."

"I don't like you..." she sniffed. Then in a much lower tone, intended to be a whisper like she only wanted it out, she continued, "I love you."

He smiled grimly as a deep sigh escaped his lips. "That's why you're naïve..."

—

—

The _Kabuto Sumo_ wasn't as big as an event the boys anticipated. Natsume's Red Anthem lost to Ruka's Dubious Achiever at the very first round, which the audience hadn't expected at all. In the end, it was Tsubasa's Oxymoron that got the second place and Koko's Whodunit who won the tournament.

It was very dumb, as the girls put it. Even the girls' cheers sounded so faked and mocking. If they had something better to do than watching two beetles wrestling to each other on a ring, they would have done it.

After the fight, while the girls were busy cleaning up the mess that the boys made, the boys rounded up together.

"Seems like your RA lacked training. What were you doing the whole day?" Ruka started off smoothly, a knowing smile on his face.

"Stuffs." Natsume replied dodgingly nonetheless. "It's pretty much unimportant."

The boys looked at each other with meaning and Koko confirmed it with a grin and a thumbs-up. Both Natsumes groaned in recognition of what they were up to: A mutiny!

Tsubasa was up first. "If it's so unimportant, why are you being dodgy?" he pried, wiggling his brows suggestively.

"I'm not dodgy." Natsume denied, not as vehement as he usually did. "Besides, it's not about me. I'll be invading someone's privacy if I tell you." Natsume said, scratching a cheek uncomfortably as a barely detectable and foreign flush colored his face.

The boys once again looked at each other and guffawed wildly.

"Bet it's Mikan, eh? Right? Right?" Tsubasa snooped even more, hitting Natsume's side teasingly with his elbow.

"Tsk." Natsume whammed Tsubasa's elbow with irritation. "Why are you all like that?"

Koko played dumb and everyone practically mirrored Koko's expression. "Like what?"

"Interpreting— _Implying_ things."

"What? We're not implying anything. Paranoid loser." Tsubasa, the liar, spoke. He placed an arm across Natsume's shoulder, playing smooth. "But you do like her, don't ya?

Natsume gave Tsubasa a that's-what-I'm talking-about look.

"What are you ashamed of?" Ruka, the best friend of his who has a tendency to be a traitorous one whenever there was a mutiny, questioned. "It's not like she's ugly that you are shy to admit it. I personally think Mikan-san's cute."

Natsume raised his brow. "If that's so, why don't you put the moves on her? You're as free as a dove."

"Because he doesn't want to jeopardize your friendship." Tsubasa teased. Koko laughed hysterically as if it was the funniest joke and reached his hand to give him a high-five.

"—And because I like somebody else." Ruka suddenly confessed.

Everybody blinked, a long pause hanging in the air and then at Natsume's mental count at three, another round of laughing fits ensued.

"Is this the part where you'll confess you like Imai?" Natsume smirked and lobbed his beer. People's confessions seemed to pop out from nowhere and boys unbelievably, were getting worked up on it. Although everyone knew Ruka would sooner or later came out of his shell and confront his denial of feelings for Hotaru, it was still quite amusing and quite renewing for someone like Ruka to announce he liked someone.

The conversation then shifted to Ruka, much to Natsume's relief. Then, the girls later on joined them. They played cards and laughed all night long.

It was as if they want to bond while good times last.

—

—

"I can't stand him!" Mikan practically shouted, throwing up her arms. She looked livid and her clomps were heavy as she entered the kitchen.

Misaki smiled at her. Judging by the way her cheeks were puffing, she knew Mikan didn't really mean what she said. "Natsume again?"

Mikan gritted her teeth and slumped to a chair next with Misaki. "He's so mean! I really don't know what I did to him to make him treat like this!"

"Aww, hell, he likes you."

"Likes me?" she echoed in disbelief. Although it would be _actually_ nice if he did, she knew how to separate her fantasy from her reality— Sometimes. "Look at my hair! It was past my shoulder then! Now, it barely reaches!"

Misaki sniffed the air and chortled, much to Mikan's annoyance. "He burned it?"

"No he didn't, he sent it to flames!"

Misaki cocked her head to a side. "I don't see the difference."

Mikan pouted.

Misaki smiled. "Want me to trim it?"

It was really cute how easily she changed expressions. One time it was annoyed, the second time it was lighting up so brightly, you could put her atop the Christmas tree. She nodded eagerly and Misaki went through the cabinets to find where the scissors was. When she did, she sat beside Mikan.

She pulled down her pigtails and secretly marveled at how soft it was. "Men have a love-hate relationship with girl's hair."

Mikan turned her head to regard Misaki but Misaki promptly and quite motherly turned her head back to where it was supposedly facing. "Why?" Mikan asked nonetheless, intrigued. Maybe Misaki was planning to tell her something to furnish her understanding with men. Misaki's credential was credulous enough, she spent years putting up with four men. That was something.

Misaki ran her fingers across her hair, a comb substitute. "Well... they love it because it makes girls look pretty. And they hate it because they were jealous of it."

She once again turned her head in incredulity and Misaki again turned it away. "Jealous?" She laughed at the idea.

"It's ridiculous-sounding but it's true! Hair is the girl's life— it's a universal fact. We spend too much time taking care of it so guys put on their frustration on our hair just to spite it and finally shift your attention from your hair to your guy."

A big red flush covered her face. "Natsume's not _my_ guy..." she muttered. "Besides, Natsume doesn't like me. He burns my hair to send me away, not because he wants me to shift my attention to him."

Misaki winked. "Reverse Psychology. And remember, Natsume's one hard oyster to crack."

Mikan pouted. Not again with the oyster conundrum. It started sometime in their stay at Tsubaki. When she has this certain dislike at him, Misaki tipped her good-naturedly that a way to understand him, was to think he was an oyster. Up to now, she couldn't crack this case. "I still don't get it... Is it because oysters are aphrodisiacs?"

At this, Misaki practically burst into laughter and Mikan immediately regretted what she said.

No more of this oyster conundrum.

—

—

They've finally arrived.

An island that seemed inhabited with its thick and rich forestry covering the civilization.

Persona's place.

But they had to _row_ to get there.

Never had it occurred to Mikan the fact that she was in open waters and that a shark could snap a finger or two from her.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that the ship was large enough to hold _Moby Dick_ and that a shark couldn't possibly jump so high it would reach her.

In fact, it would never occur to her, if she and Natsume weren't using the little claustrophobic boat and Natsume suggestively humming the _Jaws_ theme music.

"Why are we using boats when we can let the ship go all the way?" she asked, trying to distract herself from her paranoia and exaggeratingly holding on to both sides of the boat, trying to prevent it from rocking.

"Because, it's low tide, therefore the water's low and thus the ship can hit rocks." he answered, rowing the boat and again humming the tune.

She tolerated the noise for full five seconds. Then she snapped. "Stop that." she half-ordered, shuddering.

He played dumb and seized his rowing, regarding her with a small smile. "What?"

"Humming that tune. It's creepy."

He laughed cruelly. "You think there are sharks here?"

"There are none?" she asked hopefully, beginning to relax.

"There are."

She gripped on the sides further. "Please tell me it's just your sadistic sense of humor..."

"Relax." he assured half-heartedly, rowing the boat at leisure's pace. "They're filter-feeders. They're not into flesh. And even if they are, they won't snap at you. You're not as appetizing as you think you are."

Mikan frowned at him, glowering. "You have a knack of making people feel like crap."

"Pure talent." He smirked proudly.

Mikan eyed him severely, thinking what was so _oyster­_-ish about him. She said she loved him, but sometimes she tended to overlook things. Natsume seemed more like a rock to her than an oyster.

A rock was hard inside and out. An oyster has a hard shell protecting its soft flesh.

She inwardly scoffed. _Natsume isn't capable of mush..._

She batted an eyelid. _Is he?_

Well, he _did_ somehow, _at first_, comforted her, although it didn't last long, he did offer a crying shoulder— or chest for that matter.

Was it right to call love even at times you didn't get him at all?

_Well, I'm willing to accept everything about him. But really, I can't see him as an oyster. A person can't be hard and soft at the same time. It has to be one way or another._

"—Now remember, don't do anything dippy. Stay close to me and pay attention only to me. They probably won't hurt you and you can be assured that once this is all over, you can go back to whatever land you came from."

—_Or maybe he could be one way and another. Soft and hard._

Now she remembered one of the characteristics that made her fall for him.

He was a mass of contradictions.

He was repulsive and charming.

Mean and caring.

Somber and humorous.

Rash and stealthy.

Hard and soft.

"You're smiling to yourself and we're going to your malignant _admirer_." he said, giving her a raised brow. "You're crazy."

Mikan only smiled further and Natsume shrugged her off. The boat rowed off in silence as they reached the shallower, rockier parts. Suddenly, both of them were alerted at the sound of something clicking and Natsume's instinct was to tackle Mikan into the water as series of explosions erupted up to the sky.

To Natsume's dismay, they were _just_ fireworks. Colorful and elaborated fireworks.

Looks like someone had taken a crash course in hospitality and was laughing his head off at his visitor's antics.

—

The fireworks were elaborate and colorful but it all went unappreciated as Natsume crossly shoved his bangs to a side, watching the fireworks in the sky darkly. He splashed the water to the sky to show his spite, half-expecting that it would _actually_ reach and douse it.

He was rewarded by another splash against his face and his darkened eyes turned to find Mikan looking absolutely displeased and wet. He was about to tell her off but Mikan beat him to it. "What was _that_ for?!" she screamed, hands folded and like Natsume, half-submerged in water.

"I was trying to save your life, you ungrateful twit!" he retorted with an additional splash.

"Trying to save my life?!" she echoed indignantly, waddling her way to him. When she was a meter away from him, she started to point livid fingers on him. "I just hit on some rocks, thank you very much!"

He swatted her hand and splattered water to her face just to spite her. Albeit he couldn't help but to grin at her _somewhat_ cute expression on her face that was red in irritation. "I thought it was a bomb, okay?" he responded coolly and added, "I just took some precautionary measures." With that he decided it was time to get off the water and walked a few meters to get to the shore. Mikan followed grudgingly and stared at his back.

"I look like a bloody fountain." Natsume complained, out of the water and began to take off his shirt without regarding Mikan.

Mikan instantly averted her eyes, a flush on her face. "What about me?" Mikan coughed, eyes desperately seeking something interesting to look at. "I'm dripping like a..." she trailed off, trying to find something to compare herself with. "Like a fish."

"Excellent metaphor." Natsume remarked dryly and twisted his shirt to drain water. When he thought it was dry enough, he swung it across his shoulder. "You can be a writer someday."

Mikan pouted at his sarcasm and placed a slight distance between him and her. Her walk was very slow though. The dress she was wearing was big and absorbent that it became too heavy to carry.

"Strip those extra baggage of yours, meaning your clothes. It'll slow us down." He hauled up a hand to block away her predicted protest. "This is no time to be modest." He leered. She was especially comical and cute when she tried to wrap her hands around her body.

"And this is no time to play pervert." A new voice came and Mikan jerked from alarm as Natsume was fast to jump and secure her behind him.

"Have we met?" Natsume said, staring evenly at the tall man wearing dark-tinted glasses.

"Sorry." The man smiled stiffly. "Persona, the master that I serve, speaks so fondly of you that I've felt an awful sense of familiarity around you. My name is Smith."

"Ah. Smithy." Natsume acknowledged barely. Given time, he'd forget the man's name. "That Sodomist graciously sent someone to greet us." His voice was cool but Mikan knew that he was under some pressure the way his jaw was set stonily and the way he unconsciously tightened his fingers around her wrist. "Guess he can't come out at night. I mean, no one must know about his night life or it'll be a scandal."

The man in shades smiled painfully at his quip about his master's sexuality. "Yes..." he said slowly. "He told me a great deal too about your tongue." He straightened, if it was more possible. "Very well, there's a carriage waiting for you and a hot bathe for the princess."

He started to walk to lead the way and Natsume dragged Mikan along without a mouth to decline the offer. Then, Natsume jumped to a fighting stance when the man in shades stopped on his tracks.

The man regarded Natsume's stance with amusement as he chuckled. Obviously, he wasn't planning to fight with him and that he was misinterpreted. He stretched out his hands widely, like a good tour-guide does and grinned. "Welcome to the beautiful and lively Kingdom of Amberlane."

—

—


	12. Hoary Hoax

**Opening Note(s):** Chapter eleven is now chapter twelve. The explanation is on opening notes on chapters ten and eleven. Thank you. :D

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter XII – Hoary Hoax

—

_Rule 12: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.  
Who knows, maybe there'd be some kind of stupid plot twist that he is actually your brother._

—

—

He had let her down.

He had let his crew down.

Mikan was dumbstruck that after ten minutes, while riding a carriage, the jungle-like scenery came into a clearing of a very busy and commercialized kingdom.

She gaped in both confusion and fascination. Her face was almost plastered against the window. She looked back at him and noticed his scowling at her. The message was clear to her and she immediately sat back properly. They weren't here for sightseeing.

But the man named Smith was nice enough. In fact, he had offered them drinks and cakes. To Mikan, it was him, Natsume, who wasn't being nice. Just because he refused to accept the offer. Even she wasn't permitted to grab one. Her hand was still stingy thanks to his swat.

Maybe she was naïve or one of the people who believed that everyone has good in them that she was quite relaxing herself. After meeting GPU's superiors, she decided that they were fairly good people. They were crude but somewhat nice. She hoped Persona would be like GPU's superiors.

But _he_ knew better. He on the other hand was edgy and grumpy, even impatient. It was like he was waiting for _Smithy_ to do something... wrong.

As they neared the palace gates, his trepidation was rising, a question came to him.

_Will we see him as Persona... or as King Ryuu of Amberlane?_

He just hoped Persona would go as Persona, the masked seedy guy. Not King Ryuukan, the one that everyone paid respect to.

He mentally shrugged. Either way, he would commit treason.

He faced Smith and instantly cursed himself when he felt somnolent and saw Mikan already down on the floor unconscious.

He refused the drinks given to them, thinking it might contain poison or sleeping substances. However it didn't occur to him that the man across of them, didn't need one as he had the alice of sleep.

Or was it the alice of dream or déjà vu?

He wasn't so sure.

Because the next instant he felt _conscious_, he saw himself standing a few feet away with the rest of the boys back at the ship. They were all sitting cross-legged at the floor.

He felt the scene oddly familiar and tentatively walk to them. Sure enough, they didn't notice his presence as if he was a ghost.

Confused and with a slowly growing trepidation in fear that he might be dead, he felt himself up and half-expected to see himself transparent. Yet he didn't. Much to his relief.

_Feels real enough._ He decided. Although he wasn't a good judge for himself. To make good measure, he tried to tap Ruka on his shoulder.

The keyword here was: Tried.

So it was either he was the ghost or them.

Deciding not to dwell too much on agitation, he sat behind the Concrete Natsume, peeking and somewhat eavesdropping to the conversation.

"_Seems like your RA lacked training. What were you doing the whole day?_"

Phantom Natsume immediately recalled it was about three days ago, the _Kabuto Sumo_ night. Quietly he listened at their conversation, somewhat reminiscing. He laughed at some parts of it and his gaze turned to his best friend and grinned at him.

Then at everyone.

Then at the manner of how hard and hysterical all of them laughed.

Watching them, a feeling of contentment and happiness came to him as he subconsciously contemplated his unique friendship with each of them.

Ruka for a friend that complemented him, his opposite, his pacifier, his best friend.

Tsubasa for a friend to snag on, be mischievous with.

Koko for a friend to give him sometimes voice of reason and oftentimes just the voice of utter playful dumbness.

Phantom Natsume smiled grimly and watched Tsubasa grab a handful of chips and convened the girls to join them.

The boys merely chuckled knowingly that it was an ulterior move to do 'the moves' on Misaki.

Sumire ambled to them first, taking a seat between the Concrete Natsume and Koko. Sumire was a tough one to define his friendship with. She was a friend whom he had shared fewer moments with but she was a sensible and quite a brazen talker when someone needed her to be. They didn't talk a lot but her presence and sensation she provided to the crew was something essential to all of them.

Misaki was up next, drying her hands with a towel, an indication she had just washed the dishes. She sat beside Tsubasa upon the request and teasing of the majority. Misaki was like a mother to him and maybe to the whole crew except for Tsubasa who wanted to play 'Daddy'. As the oldest girl in the crew, she did most of the chores and emotional support.

Hotaru came shortly, as per usual with her lips pressed into a thin line. She didn't sit down with them but instead, took off a tiny capsule, pressed a button and a recliner came into place. Natsume didn't want to admit this but Hotaru was his guardian. A sister of his who was, in her own quite hostile ways protected not only him but all of them.

And Mikan, who was avoiding Concrete Natsume's trained eyes on her, slowly made her way beside Misaki and Koko. Koko greeted her by tickling her side and Mikan responded with a good-natured slap.

As for Mikan, she was a _tricky_ one.

She was a _quite_ special friend.

He didn't know when he started treating her specially but perhaps the boys had seen it long before he had.

At first, she irritated him and her presence was a bother. Nothing special. Everyone had at least thrice received his seemingly callous way of treatment— The disagreeable and insensitive approach in everything as if it was some sort of an initiation rite. Then, it followed that he got accustomed to her— in a short span of time that it almost broke Ruka's record. In fact, he grew so accustomed and used to being beside her that whenever she was out of his sight, he felt something was terribly amiss and restless.

When they first got into their first _real_ argument at Tsubaki and felt an overwhelming urge to _talk_ to her and bugged by his scruples, he realized he had a special eye for her, be it romantically or not, it didn't matter.

Maybe because she was like Ruka. He reasoned, being his opposite and his counterpart.

There had been times when he called her ugly. Of course he knew she wasn't. In fact, reluctantly, he admitted that she was cute in more than ways than the face value.

Too cute that at times he couldn't help but to yank her cheek to see how stretchable it could go. Too cute that he couldn't feel anger whenever she did something dippy as she pouted for an apology. Too cute that she was too oblivious that she was divulging her supposed-to-be secret fantasies. Too cute that he teased her incessantly just to see her blush. Heck, she was too cute that he found himself absolutely undeserving when she confessed she loved him.

Too cute that maybe in some alternate universe, in a different time and place, in a completely different circumstance, without all of the tons of problems weighing down on him, he had considered the idea of dating her.

Maybe even loving her.

He blinked, dumbfounded. _Consider WHAT?_

He shook his head and half-hoped he could materialize himself to grab on to some booze as well just to drown some uncalled-for ideas and perhaps blame the beer for his hazy thoughts.

He turned his attention back at them, noticing they were playing cards.

They were happy. And thoughts about Persona and the crap Youichi was talking about 'saving the world' were forgotten completely.

But he, the observer, being the bipolar one, couldn't help but to be engulfed by melancholy as soon as the feeling of happiness evaporated.

He knew it wasn't going to last...

Three days from this happy memory, they'd be facing Persona.

Heck, he could be dead by now.

Wasn't it said that at death, your whole life flashes back at you?

Was this he was seeing a life flash?

"_You're not dead. Yet._" A voice seared his ears, booming.

The image soon swirled and rippled and seemed to be sucked by a blackhole as the overwhelming blistering wind wiped everything but him. Leaving him standing all-alone on a cold, dark place.

Natsume didn't show panic, recognizing the voice straight away. He knew he liked him squirming uncomfortably and he wouldn't let him have that pleasure. "I knew you were behind all of this." he said in the air.

"_I didn't know you're a sentimental child, Natsume._" The voice was all over yet the source seemingly switches from one place to another, making it harder for Natsume to trace him.

"Leave them alone." he warned emptily.

"_Of course. As long as your crew stays on the ship. Too bad your pet parrot, Koi, upon Hotaru's instruction, is to report to them if you need reinforcement. And you certainly need one._" The voice tutted. "_You're underestimating me Natsume, to think you came alone. Although, fair enough, you brought the princess with you._"

He felt his heart skip in anxiousness. Yet he managed to gather his wits to avoid emotions push him to make poor judgments. "Where is she?"

"_I'm jealous. Why, you never spoke of me with concern._" Natsume could feel the smirk on his tone. "_Relax. She's safe. You know I won't do any harm to her._"

"So you got the girl," Natsume played coolly. "What do you still want with me? I'm recalling we agreed on a payment not a payback."

The temperature turned from cold to freezing and an unseen force blew his gut, making him cough out some blood. "_Don't take me for a fool!_" the cool, playful voice changed as wind gushed to his face as the voice spoke. It was like he was in front of a human-sized mouth. "_I knew you were working for that Hiijiri brat!_"

"Where are you? Better yet, where am I?" His vision swirled and a stinking smell infiltrated his nose. It smelt of rotten corpse and dried blood. He was on his feet and got a feeling where he was, with both of his hands on separate chains but his vision was still blurry. When it cleared, he looked forward to see a masked person waiting patiently with the dungeon as his background.

It was Persona. The king of Amberlane who was known by many as King Ryuu.

"What do you want?" he grunted, his head throbbing in pain. "And why am I in chains?"

"I like it kinky." Persona's monotonous voice quipped and appeared to have calmed down, deliberately misreading the inquiry.

Natsume chuckled in spite of his ordeal.

Persona gaited around his cell, his leather boots resonated through the chamber and looking around like he was on an art exhibit. His steps were confident and sure-footed, like always. "Isn't this place nostalgic?"

It was a rhetorical question and Natsume gritted his teeth at Persona, almost growling.

Persona wasn't intimidated. He walked up to him, a rod at hand and prod Natsume. He used the rod to lift up his sleeve to reveal a number scorched on his upper right arm. It was pretty much the same number the Amberian émigré that came to 'assassinate' him.

"Such a shame..." Persona remarked mockingly and swung the rod off Natsume when Natsume jerked his arm. "The mark here is always to remind you of your sin."

A surge of once-repressed anger shot up and with his hands cuffed, he used his feet to reach Persona. It was pretty pathetic but Natsume was ready to throw some of his ego away just to spite him. "Damn you!"

"Thank you for reminding me I have to tie your feet as well." Persona responded, eerily calm. He was convinced that Natsume was virtually not detrimental now that his alice was repressed by the cuffs.

"What do you want?!" he repeated his unanswered question.

Persona ignored him once again and stared at him, reminding Natsume that he was in no position to demand. He was the one who would control the flow of the conversation. "Tell me Natsume, are you planning to steal this kingdom from me?" His lips quirked upward upon seeing Natsume's shocked expression on his face. It was like he had just blown their plans. Assuming straightaway, he laughed cruelly roughly sounding like a cackle. "And who do you think you are? Just because your mother— _our_ mother, was the former ruler, you think you can rule? My, my, you're very ambitious, thinking you're lower than a princekin as your father's a mere slave. Do you remember? It was our own mother who sent you to dungeon and put death to your father. Meaning she didn't want you anywhere her throne after the incident."

Natsume shook his head, knowing it wasn't completely true. He knew his mother. The former queen and ruler had shown her love and care for him in her simple albeit covert ways. She had loved both him and his father.

Tsubaki told him his father and mother were sweethearts before she was crowned queen. Because she possessed fire alice, her parents forced her to marry someone of royal blood. His father was a commoner. A commoner, but never a slave. Until the newly crowned queen sneaked him inside the palace grounds to get him a rather debasing job of taking care of the stable just to make their _lover's tryst_ easier. Soon she got pregnant and the baby's red eyes were dead giveaways. Of course she couldn't let the public knew she had an affair. So she made Tsubaki take the baby away and announce it was stillbirth.

She loved them both. Though in the end, she chose him to live over his father when the news about him exploded.

Albeit his father had concurred this complex decision with his mother, he couldn't help but feel that she was his father's death. And so he was as well. It was like mother and son conspired together to kill father. That was why he hated her so. If he was dead, he wouldn't have to go through all this.

Natsume continued to shake his head, then appearing like he had lost his saneness, he chuckled dully, his voice hollow when he spoke. "Do you really think this kingdom is worth _my_ crap? Besides, the fire-wielder rule was dissolved long ago by yourself." He managed a leer and pulling himself up to meet up with Persona's dark eyes. "I'm not interested in politics... at least not me."

Persona strung out. Barely detectable but highly valued by Natsume. "You mean... Hotaru?"

"How come you forgot your little sister? After you die, she's next in line. It's not like you could self-proliferate."

Persona raided his hand in anger and twisted his fingers as if grasping something concrete in the air parallel to Natsume's neck. He was using his alice on him and Natsume felt his energy slowly deteriorating. Natsume wasn't sure what Persona's alice was but Hotaru warned him it could cause instant death. And at that time Natsume's priority was not to identify it but to stop it.

Natsume uselessly clawed his neck, struggling for air. He wanted to stretch out his hand to stop Persona but it simply couldn't reach him. When Persona was satisfied he retracted his hand and Natsume gasped all the air he could get. He looked up at Persona with bewilderment and a taint of fright. His alice was overpowering and domineering. He felt dehydrated and exhausted. It was like his cells were atrophied.

Persona smirked with satisfaction. "Not yet. I need you still to bend my sweet little princess to my wishes. You know how villains work." He winked.

He coughed, his throat sore. "What are your plans? World domination?" he sneered. He might have done his sneer with justice if he was sounding hoarse because he was being manly.

Persona laughed. "World domination? I may seem like a villain but I'm not into that archaic purpose. I'm not naïve. I simply do this for the thrills. Doing things secretly brings excitement." He paused. He wanted to have some proof to support his statement. "Have you watched the news about the dead bodies found in Wintergall?" Natsume merely stared and Persona felt liberated to continue and go spill the beans. "I use those bodies to smuggle gold. Human bodies are not suspicious and get me a new way to eliminate the kingdom's cancer of the society."

"Smuggle?" he said in incredulity, his throat still feeling parched.

"Shall I allow you a demonstration?"

Natsume merely gaped in disbelief and Persona clicked his fingers. A man clothed in prisoner's outfit, energy drained, was dragged to his cell and a man with his whole head covered to prevent recognition. The masked man carried a tub of hot melted gold.

Instantly, Natsume rounded his eyes for seeing what was going to happen. He screamed his protest and watched the man forced his mouth open, a funnel at his orifices, and the executioner poured in the liquefied gold as the man screamed and futilely gurgled. Natsume could literally see smokes out of the poor man's ears and nose and swore he had seen the man peed on his pants.

It was the most shocking and disturbing thing he had seen and it took about ten seconds for the man to officially drop dead. The dead man's skin scorched.

"Genius am I not?" Persona remarked casually like they were only talking about the weather.

"You're crazy." he remarked, a small break on his voice.

"Geniuses are often misunderstood. I thank you though, for informing me about how my sister, Hotaru is doing. In fact I am so grateful that I'm telling you a secret in exchange." Natsume swallowed. The secrets Persona was exposing was very disturbing that he didn't wasn't sure he still wanted to know his exposition. "You know the thing about the decapitating? The killing of the princes?" Natsume perked up. Now that was something he _did_ want to identify with. "Your memory of it was just a hoax. I made someone with memory alice mess up with your mind. Your anger, guilt, revenge and everything are uncalled for."

Natsume scoffed inwardly. Gathering all of him back again. He knew the reason Persona told him that. He wanted to make him feel all his and their hard work was for naught. But Persona was wrong. Even if it was a memory, the events that took place after the hoax was real enough. His imprisonment, his mother reluctantly betraying his willing father to save him, his father dying, his working for an inscrutable group, his abduction of Mikan. And it all made his resolve for destroying Persona more stanch.

He laughed. A chuckle filled with dark humor that could rival Persona, escaped Natsume's throat. "I knew it."

Persona's eyes slightly narrowed. "You do?"

"I've never told anyone about this because I want to confirm it first... But do you remember the mind-reader kid GPU sent to spy on you a few years ago?"

Persona raised his brow. "That Yome?" he reckoned and leered. "Nice try Natsume-_kun_ but that plot twist seems to have a plot hole." Natsume had to chuckle, confident enough to go with his humor. "I knew he was sent to spy by GPU the first day he went to me. But I let him because I could use his skills. Unfortunately for GPU though, as that Hiijiri seemed to have shrunk his brain as well, forgot the basic that someone who has a low alice rank can't penetrate through mine."

"He had his alice amplified you moron. Of course he could read your mind. As much as I wanted to agree that Hiijiri's narrow-minded, at least the other lesser superiors aren't." He paused and savored the prolonged pause, seconds before he would shove down to Persona's throat his trump card. "I know that you're dying."

Natsume saw Persona for the very first time froze momentarily in shock and he mentally exclaimed _Bingo!_

"Dying?" Persona managed to echo incredulously like the idea was unheard of and totally ridiculous.

"Don't play dumb. Your alice type is like mine. As we consume our alice, we consume our life-force. That's why you need Mikan. You need to feed on it to prolong your life. You mock Hiijiri for being so gullible to bite your bait to become _younger_ yet you're doing the same thing. And the smuggling? It's just some poorly made plot to sidetrack us from your real purpose." He blatantly sneered. "Really, if that's all what you really want, stop all of these. We could help each other, work together and live peacefully. Let's be a family. After all, we're brothers."

Persona studied him intently. "You don't mean that do you?"

Natsume smirked. "I was hoping some sentimental crap would work."

"Almost." Persona decided to play along with him. "It's just that tear, the essential element, is missing."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"No need to." Persona dismissed tightly. "I've always liked you for your noiselessness. But now you talk too much. Haven't I told you before, Natsume-kun?" Persona paused like waiting for Natsume to tell the saying.

When Natsume kept silent, he said, "Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut."

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** Well I never said anything about evil brother. Only about evil _twin_ brother.


	13. As Friends

**Opening Note(s):** I really don't get why some readers are still waiting for Natsume's development of feelings. I did drop quite a number of "hints" and last chappie, I've made a quite special section to discuss it and draw it out. I know it's subtle but that's how I imagined what would Natsume be if he was in love. Mikan on the other hand, was being blatant but that's also how I imagined her. After all, in the series, Natsume was known for keeping his emotions (sometimes in denial and never realizes what hit him till it hit him) and Mikan was... well very vocal.

Maybe there's a lacking on my part. For that, I am sorry. Don't worry, this chapter, I've probably made him OOC (hopefully not much) just to throw in the fluff.

Enjoy! :D

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter XIII – As Friends

—

_Rule 13: Love is blind, if not deaf._

—

—

Natsume thought he was done for the moment Persona raised his hand to give him a final blow of his alice. With his state, he couldn't make it. He didn't avert his eyes and just wait for the blow and perhaps death would hit him without knowing. In reward, he saw Persona's hand halt in midair as an officer came reporting stiffly about Hotaru.

Likely thinking Hotaru was more of a threat than him who was helplessly and pathetically chained, he turned away to go after her. But not before turning back and giving him a _You'll be next!_ look.

When Persona was finally out of sight, he released a breath he didn't notice he was holding.

He didn't bother struggling against the chain though. He knew it would be futile and he'd just squander his remaining energy. He could count on his crew, reluctantly giving in that they were as involved as him in this mission, to set him free. For now, he would take a nap to regain his energy.

Something buzzed from his pocket and he jerked in alarm. He had thought Smithy had managed to get a hold of the tiny communication device Hotaru had given him.

"_Hyuuga_." It was Hotaru and her voice was still in the same monotone if not slightly concerned. The voice from the communication device was so clear it was almost as if you were talking in the flesh.

"What?" he snapped, clearly wanting to get his nap and inwardly cursed the growing numbness of his whole body.

"_I know you are a retard, but being caught_?"

"Did you just contact me to rub it in my face? Get me out of here."

There was a pause in the other line then Hotaru spoke yet again. "_What's the magic word_?" she harassed.

"Uh... How about: Now?"

Hotaru snorted in spite of of herself. "_You seem fine enough_._ Why do you not get out yourself_?"

"Imai..." he was now using his exasperated tone. When there was no reply on the other line he decided to take control of the conversation. "You get Mikan." Natsume said, starting to relay instructions but Hotaru interrupted him.

"_No_. _You get her_."

He let his mouth gape open. "This is serious! You can't be possibly be romanticizing the events! We're in a war!"

"_Shut your trap_. _Unlike you_,_ I go for the long-term goal_. _When I am queen_, _I will be writing my adventures and make it a mandatory reading in school_. _Just be thankful I am adding you two as side-characters_. _You better play good_."

If he wasn't chained right now, he would have pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe his sister was so obsessed with herself, she'd write a book and force virtually everyone to read it. At a time like this!

"Imai." Again, he said her family name. More firmly this time to emphasize the urgency of the situation. He knew Hotaru was confident about her plans but he wasn't. But then he sighed resignedly. "Where is she? Some kind of a tower?" he tried to quip although he got a bad feeling about this.

And he was right. He could almost feel Hotaru's smirk with her short suspending pause for a reply that he groaned in incredulity. "No dragons though."

—

As he was waiting for his crew's arrival, his thoughts drifted back in time, remembering the pretty psychologist Quinn. It was a lie she made him take I.Q. and E.Q. tests. It was more about to test his alice. Almost everything was a lie.

The night the tragedy happened he was just suddenly inscribed with a horrible shenanigan. In his faux memory, it was said he did it. But inwardly he was confused. He didn't have the motive to kill the princes. He almost fled from the palace when someone who said who saw him— apparently Persona's minion— tried to grab him and send him to the authorities.

As a servant, he knew how awful Amberlane treated their prisoners. He often heard conversation amongst his co-servants the hardships that most of their relatives endure.

He would have given everything to escape the wrath of prison. Almost everything, until his father came to take responsibility of his crime.

Instantly, people hated his father. They threw awful and hateful words at him. His mother, not wanting to divulge her secret about him had tearfully sent his father to execution. All the while he was thinking he was the one who supposedly suffering whatever his father had suffered.

He had hated his mother. He had hated her even more when she took her life, living him all-alone and vulnerable to the inscrutable GPU.

He remembered seeing Youichi then, he just realized. He was an old man back then, walking side by side with his seemingly young wife Luna. And he construed the possibility that the bargain Persona made with Youichi to have eternal youth was to have GPU's hands on him.

He hissed, the brat got whatever he deserved. Yes he was now trying to rectify his past mistakes but still too many people got involved and got killed. No way he was going to forgive him any time sooner.

The brat had claimed he would help them get back to Persona but in the end, it had come to light it was not Youichi who was helping them but it was them who was helping Youichi. The brat needed to help them to lessen his guilt and foolishness.

At first, Youichi offered the kingdom to him but he had no interest of running the kingdom he hated. If he became king, he'd become an awful tyrant just to spite them. And as politics in nature, the opposing party would do anything to make him abdicate— Like digging in to his past he didn't want to be reminded after all of these craziness were over.

Hotaru was the perfect candidate.

She was educated as a princess and as a candidate for the throne. She had no awful pasts too, apart from piracy which was somewhat legal in terms of where her affiliation lies. He was sure everyone, even the ever-present opposing party, would have no guts and balls to go against her. It was as if Hotaru was born to be a leader.

After the day Persona was crowned, all the first two generations lined up for the throne were thrown to exile. She was on the first generation, Persona's whole sister.

Soon, Hotaru would have her revenge and everything would fall back to their respective places.

Him, the crew...

And Mikan.

After all of these were over, Mikan would get her life back. And she could get married to that O'Hara guy she'd been engaged to.

An unfamiliar fury rose, immediately hating the sound of O'Hara's name. He was always filled up with negative feelings but of all, this one wasn't in his normal sphere of emotions. He didn't know whatever he was feeling was called. Or maybe he did have an idea, he just didn't want to entertain such thoughts at a time like this.

Mikan would have a good life. End of story.

But what about them?

_What about what?_

He could continue seeing her, he supposed. Not as often as they had always been back at the ship though. And with her fiancée O'Hara, there were few of these moments together alone.

_Why the heck do I need to be alone with her?_

"_Because you like her_._ You like her a lot_."

_No I don't._ he denied.

He could hear his inner voice chuckling in an evil villain manner.

He must be turning insane.

"_Then perhaps you love her_."

Yeah, definitely turning insane.

He was no different from Hotaru after all. Thinking of the future already, when he was more like someone who was trapped in the past.

He grunted. There was no way he could get a nap that he wanted if he kept thinking all of those. So he decided it was time to let it all go. At least for the moment.

He was dozing in and out for about forty minutes when he noticed rushed movement along the shadows. Instinctively, he knew it was one of his crew. He just didn't know who.

He wished it wasn't Hotaru or Tsubasa. Those two didn't know how to hide their scorns. Even he, as he looked down at his vulnerable and puny form couldn't help scoffing. He was a captain only in name, yes, but still he'd like to keep _basic_ dignity to himself. They have no time to waffle around. They needed to help Mikan get out of the place as soon as possible.

When the shadow approached, he didn't lift his face, troubled it was either of the two.

"Took you long enough." he said gutturally, trying to sound tough. Tentatively, he looked up to see who came for him.

Who he saw made his throat went dry and his irises widen.

"W-What are you doing in here?" he said gingerly, quite sure he was hallucinating.

In a plain white overalls reaching to her knees, she stood, equally stumped at his appearance. Her curly honey hair was flowing freely in a fashion he'd been curious to see. Her foot was bare and seemed to have gone through dirt. Still, much to his surprise, she looked almost glowing, or maybe it was all because he was already seeing stars.

When he looked up to her eyes, almost about to cry, he couldn't help but think that—

She looked like an angel.

And he was so discreetly happy to see her.

When she recovered from shock, she rushed to get him out of his manacles, fumbling over the keys she managed to steal.

He shook his head, trying to clear off the haze clouding his thoughts.

"Twit..." he tried to call her attention, not understanding one bit. Wasn't she supposedly captured too? Locked up in a tower? He searched her face but her hair was blocking the view. Was he merely hallucinating? An image of what he had wanted to see?

When the chain clicked away, she immediately dragged his hand to escape.

"There's an exit here somewhere..." she said breathlessly, searching frantically around for the said exit.

He jerked her hand but only managing to get her glance at him quizzically then back to her frantic search of way out.

That did it. He was not going to be ignored more. "_Mikan_." he said in exasperation, taking a dangerous tone. To his amusement, the effect was instant. There was something about calling her by her name that made her snap from her senses as if it was a magic word. And there was also something about calling her name that made him seem closer to her.

She then hugged him on impulse, once suppressed tears rolling on her face. "Thank God you're alive! I thought... I thought..." She shook her head, unable to continue for the fear it might still happen. "That guy, Smith, he said I can't see you and others again! He was talking about something about the goose that laid golden eggs and how foolish the man was because he killed it!"

A small smile tugged around the area of his lips. She had misinterpreted Smith's anecdote. He was referring to her, not to him. He decided not to correct her this time, savoring the moment she was wrapping her arms around him.

It was a very alarming, the overwhelming emotion of wanting her so close. He had missed her warmth and her unconscious ability to lift his mood up when he was down.

"I was so afraid and I took the first chance to escape..."

It was sadistic to feel this way but he liked her worrying too much about him. Natsume patted her, this time not in an awkward way. "Let me guess, through the window?" he uttered in his usual cool tone.

She hit him gently on his arm. "This is no time for situational jokes!"

She then noticed he was holding her tighter than the usual. Weirded out, she looked up and saw him looking at her strangely. There was an obvious fatigue in his leer and the teasing was almost gone. It was like he knew a secret she didn't know. "What?" she snapped and averted her eyes, unable to hold his gaze.

Whatever he said next, he could swear it was spontaneous. "I love you."

Mikan didn't bother to look up, frozen in her place. She was feeling a little queasy and dizzy. Yeah, definitely dizzy. Not to mention even delusional. She even imagined Natsume saying he— _Waittaminute_... she did _what_?!

"What?!" she shrieked in disbelief, almost breaking the spell. She was back to her old dippy self.

Natsume glowered at her, pushing her away in indignation. "Can you stop being a twit for once?! I just—!" he bit back feverishly the last few words, only dawning just now what he had uttered completely out of the blue.

With a tinge of red on his cheeks, he ruffled his hair in irritation. He just stood there, arms stuffed into his pockets, looking at her with a look that translated to: _You missed it_._ You're sorry_.

"W-W-What? No... really... what?" She followed his annoyed gaze at her. She held him at arms length and shook him. Obviously, it was too good to be true to her that she thought she was still imagining crazy things. Any minute now, she expected to see pigs flying across the sky...

"Mikan!" he yelled, trying to transfer some of his saneness to her. He knew she was thick. But he never expected she was _this_ thick. _Kami-sama_, she was ruining the moment. This should have been the part where they'd kiss not staring at each other disbelievingly. "I swear, if you ever made me repeat I'm gonna knock you hard on your head and give you an amnesia!"

"You mean... you—?" She pointed a confused finger on him then on her, tracing a line between them. This was all so confusing and certainly out of the blue. Whatever Natsume said or _imagined_ he said it was unthinkable. Unless... "Ah." She smiled, finally reaching a conclusion. "You love me? As a friend right?"

It was plain obvious he was seething. His hands that were coolly stuffed in his pockets a while ago was now tucked across his chest, folding his arms tightly and his brows were cringed together, his red irises almost glowing with fire. Finally snapping and getting impatient of her assessment she pulled her close. Before she could yet again assess the situation, he left no room for argument by closing his lips over hers.

It took a moment or two to dawn on Mikan what was happening.

At first, she was afraid to get too drowned. She didn't want to come out as needy as she had the last time. Any moment, she expected him to break away but he didn't. And when she tried to do that, he heard him groan in protest and hold her even closer.

When it ended, there was a dumbfounded expression on her face. She brushed her fingers tentatively against her lips, discerning if it was real or not. She looked up to him and saw his very much alive smirk. Then he answered her question.

"Go figure."

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** Sorry for the short chapter. But I want to do this so I won't end this in 14 chapters. I know it's selfish but the upside is I'll update soon! :D

To _passing through_:  
Uh... First of all, I'd like to clear that, yes, I hate flames but constructive criticism is okayed. I won't go saying "I love criticisms, I love receiving them!" because I don't. I don't feel happy when I get criticized, be it schoolwork or whatever. It's like being scolded by your mom, you don't like it yet you know you need it. It's not a nice feeling but it's a feeling I could get over and open to. So I can't tell you you've made my day but I can sincerely thank you. Thank you for pointing things I've overlooked. I would try in your suggestions (pretty good by the way) by the time I could fit revising into my sched. If you have more to say you could give your e-mail and I'll mail you. ;)


	14. Final Showdown

**Opening Note(s):** You are not having a nightmare. I repeat: You are not having a nightmare and your brain perfectly functions well. I really have updated. I sincerely hope someone still reads this after being buried for so long.

Just a warning people: my writing's been quite rusty (especially at the shameful, "_action_" scene) due to lack of practice so please bear with me. :D

—

Rules of Abduction  
Written by: Snow Sparkle  
Chapter XIV – Final Showdown

—

_Rule 14: When a good guy is being teamed up by a bunch of bad guys, it's called dirty and dishonest.  
But when a bad guy is teamed up by a bunch of good guys, it's called a beautiful display of teamwork and camaraderie._

—

—

There were six official alice levels. F was the lowest, the level of non-alice; while A was the highest, the most powerful of all.

Then there was a rumor about the seventh level: the S alice. Some scholars though believed that S rank was merely a myth. A few argued that S wasn't a permanent level, it was more like a state of trance, a power so saturated with energy— A trance which gave the user an enormous, incalculable power. There was a downside to this though and this was where most scholars concur: The person, after attaining the seventh level, will break his body, and die.

Some even cruelly joked S stands for suicidal.

Being a B alice didn't make Natsume's situation any easy. Although his alice was considered one of the most dangerous kind, it was still on its fledging, volatile state; as opposed to Persona's which was in its full maturity.

He had an incredibly potent amplifier of course but his plans didn't include him using that amplifier. He knew his alice was still young, he wasn't foolish. If he used the amplifier it might cause his alice to lurch to S rank. The sudden two-level jump would break his body as it was not accustomed to contain such power and might also make him lose his mind and go off his rocker. The probability of going from B to S was particularly low but he wasn't going to bet on something hypothetical. He couldn't risk being a wild, mindless bull if he was to protect Mikan.

He could however risk Persona.

And that was his plan.

He couldn't afford to play honest and go showdown-ing with him with just his alice equipped. It would be too foolish, especially when there were lives at stake. It wasn't like Persona was the type to fight honesty as well.

Although, if there was something he had learned as a pirate, it was to use underhanded methods to get whatever he wanted— That it wasn't always about strength or power or money. Sometimes it was the shrewdness that got things done.

But how could he make Persona touch the amplifier, make him S rank, and watch him destroy himself without endangering the others but himself?

If he used the alice stone, he'd die.

If Persona used the alice stone, he'd die.

Both plans were not cheery to say the least.

"What are you thinking?" Mikan's voice rang like a bell to his ears and immediately breaking his reverie.

He slowly focused his eyes on Mikan's, trying to place why she was again with him.

His eyes then trailed down to her arm and finally down to their intertwined fingers. Inwardly startled, he abruptly pulled his hand away and stuffed it inside his pocket, mentally cursing himself for being a slapdash and for letting his guard down.

Why had he kissed her? On top of that why had he confessed? He shouldn't have. He couldn't have her hoping and pining for him when he knew there was a huge possibility he wouldn't get out alive. It was selfish of him.

Sure it wasn't like he had planned on confessing and kissing her. Well okay, he had _maybe_ thought, _somehow_ considered fleetingly— all right maybe downright _wanted_ to could kiss her again at one point but never to confess. In fact, he hadn't realized he harbored such feelings for her until it came out of his mouth.

She was special, more special than Ruka or anyone else; and that was why he couldn't afford to be selfish.

She had a life before he came, and he had every intention of giving it back to her.

"I'm not expecting anything out of you," Mikan aberrantly said, thoughtful. "In fact, I don't really think you've meant what you said a while ago."

She was looking for some kind of assurance, Natsume arrogantly noticed. And he inwardly grinned for reading her like an open book, which was so damned cute.

Reflexively, he reached atop of her head and stooped down so that her eyes were staring directly into his. There was so much fire and intensity in his eyes that she couldn't help but tilt her face away so she wouldn't have to look and be dragged down to those deep red pools and lose her wits more than necessary— and also, so that he wouldn't see her blushing so profusely.

Natsume enjoyed torturing her however and tilted her chin back.

"Don't fight it," he murmured, teasing, his lips almost touching hers.

_Fight what?_ Mikan wanted to ask, her face all burned up, but as she gazed into his eyes, she slowly nodded and her eyes closed mechanically, waiting for the inevitable.

_Maybe you could afford to be selfish, after all, you've been selfish all your life._

Natsume brushed away the stray coffee hairs out of Mikan's adorable, innocent face and felt if he should do this it should be done now or never.

_Could you afford being selfish one last time?_

Maybe. Could he compromise? He bargained.

His hands slowly touched her cheeks, angling it in a position he wanted. And then tentatively he bent further down, surprising the both of them when he kissed her forehead, softly, lingeringly, affectionately, as if wanting to stretch out this moment.

_I couldn't afford being selfish, at least this one last time._

Mikan immediately understood. She broke down into silent tears, hugging and clinging onto him. She knew he was saying goodbye already and there was nothing she could say or do to stop him.

In her final desperation, she bargained, "There must be something I could do."

He smiled wanly. "There might be. But I won't let you," he said, then feeling a little bit roguish again added, "You're better off with that fiancée of yours."

"What?" she squeaked, feeling betrayed.

Sure O'Hara, her ex-fiancée, wasn't half as arrogant as Natsume. What was more ironic was that one of the reasons why Mikan was put off by O'Hara was because he was arrogant.

_Except that Natsume was different._ Mikan reasoned to herself.

But how could she know for sure though when she hadn't given O'Hara a chance?

A chance to know him better.

A chance to redeem himself.

A chance to see him in a better light.

A chance to spend time and talk about everything, or maybe simply idle and hang-out, just the two of them.

A chance like what Natsume had...

"I don't want to give O'Hara a chance," she said stubbornly, making one of Natsume's brows to rise for he had little idea what made her say that. "Because all I want is you."

As cliché as it was, it got him, and he mentally hit himself for that. Why was he so affected and so warmed-up by her cheap, soap-opera-ish lines?

Simple: Because it was straightforward and honest.

And that's one of the reasons why he liked her so much.

He hadn't noticed he was smiling at her. "Stupid twit," he muttered, pinching her cheek fondly. "I think you're obsessed rather than in love with me."

"Horrible!" she exclaimed, glowering at him. Natsume equally matched her stare, leering down at her.

—

They were so at it that they hadn't noticed someone had sneaked up. An unexpected guffaw came and both Mikan and Natsume hurdled and craned their necks the direction of the laughter.

"Such a player, aren't we, Natsume-kun?" Persona materialized from down the stairway of the dungeon. Natsume immediately secured Mikan, pulling her back. "I was listening for quite a while now and I thought how cute this couple is." He smiled genially. "Too bad it's gonna be one of those like Romeo and Juliet." His smile turned menacing. "A tragedy."

—

For someone whose body was slowly degenerating, Persona was mighty fast as he swooped and latched like a leech on Natsume. Natsume pushed Mikan out of the way. "I'll see to it nothing happens to Juliet though." Persona whispered against his ear and without mercy, released his deadly alice directly on the already weakened Natsume.

"No!" Mikan cried out and was about to join the mêlée when two arms prevented her from doing so.

"Don't Sakura!" Sumire urgently said, trying not o look at Natsume so she wouldn't be compelled on joining the fight herself.

Mikan struggled fiercely. "He's Natsume! Your captain! We must help him! Where are the others? We need reinforcements!"

Sumire wanted to say reinforcements were on their way, and they were, but she was afraid it'd be too late before they've even arrived. "We have to get out. Now."

"And Natsume?"

"Come," Sumire half-heartedly pulled Mikan away. The sooner she could secure Mikan the sooner she could help Natsume.

The two girls watched from the corner of their eyes as Natsume was recoiling in pain due to Persona's alice.

"You can't leave him! He's your captain!"

"Shut up!" Sumire exclaimed. "Do you actually think I'd rather save your ass than Natsume?" She turned misty-eyed. "But the captain has laid down his order: to protect you at all cost."

"You can't get away!" Persona bellowed, using his alice on Sumire. She had chocked down onto the ground, trying to claw the invisible force that seemed to be squeezing the life out of her. The alice had managed to affect Mikan as well and was down in a matter of seconds.

Natsume made use of the distraction and punched Persona squarely on his face and sent him staggering backwards.

"Fool," Persona remarked, groping at Natsume's shirt and heaving him against his body. In spite, Natsume spit on his face, wanting to see Persona at least a bit thrown off. To his horror and disgust, Persona merely traced it out with his finger and licked it clean.

Natsume twisted his face in aversion. "How would you like to taste my vomit as well?"

"Getting chummy with your boyfriend?" Tsubasa commented as he jumped into the fray.

"Hi Natsume," came Misaki's bouyant voice, instantaneously assuming a fighting pose.

"Hotaru?" Natsume inquired.

"Taking Amberlane over with Ruka," Tsubasa duly answered. He was about to add _You should have seen her_ but he was interrupted by Persona's mocking and echoing laughter.

"Oh so you think you can stop me, with your pitifully ranked alices?"

"Well," Tsubasa started, having a cocky grin. They haven't got amplifiers but... "You are outnumbered."

"And who said about using alices?" Misaki chimed in, already charging on to Persona.

Persona caught her fist and ducked gracefully as Natsume came a second after Misaki. Natsume's fist came in contact once again on Persona's face, but not before landing a strike on both Natsume and Misaki, sending them both reeling. Tsubasa, enraged, deftly flew into the air and necklocked Persona. Natsume leaped forward and aimed for his body until suddenly, Persona raised both of his hands and the three of them instantly fell onto the floor, the poison of his alice, deeply seeping into their bodies.

Persona laughed, amused at the way they struggled and squirmed for air. "Why don't you just surrender? You know you're nothing against me."

"...Am I?" Natsume smirked, showing off an alice stone slightly clenched on his fist."

Tsubasa's eyes rounded in horror, recognizing the look of do or die in Natsume's eyes and the alice stone. "Out!" he barked. "All of you out!"

—

There was no time for goodbyes. Tsubasa dragged Misaki who was unsure of what was going to happen but frightened for Natsume. Sumire, who was crying big, fat tears, was trying to drag away Mikan who was crying the same big, fat tears.

Natsume was about to liberate the stone and impel it against Persona, trusting Tsubasa to get everyone out. But as he did so, he realized in horror that the stone was not coming off him and was slowly disintegrating into his body.

How did it end up like this? Why was his body reacting to the stone? It was for Persona! He had tried to let go of the stone but every time, it sent bolts of electricity down his arm and crept to his body, paralyzing himself.

He laughed caustically. So this was his fate? The wages of his sins? Was it through this way that it could be atoned? To be like the star? A body full of energy, so destructive, but still a mindless one?

There was no way he could fight off the power. His body was already beaten and weakened to begin with, it was a miracle he had last this long. The burning heat radiating off his body, he was quite sure, was not his alice.

Then he began to gasp desperately for air— His fire alice consuming all his oxygen. His eyes diluted as he watched Persona grin triumphantly at him, watching his flames eat him. Persona was no fool. He wouldn't use this chance to hammer him, after all, if he approached, the fire would eat him alive as well.

Slowly, Natsume feel down to his knees, still not quite succumbing; but he felt it wouldn't be too long now. His body, not accustomed to the enormous power was starting to break.

Natsume helplessly glanced at his side, hoping that Mikan has escaped. _As long as she's safe..._

In a last ditch effort, he outstretched both of his hands, focusing all his wayward energy into a single highly condensed ball, aiming it at Persona. But before he could release it, he had blackened out.

—

The Natsume that opened his eyes, wasn't Natsume. He was like a phoenix who had risen from its ashes and had breathed a new life.

Persona, alarmed, as he looked into Natsume's amber eyes and the gigantic amber ball, raised his hand and just like what Natsume did, made a highly condensed ball of purple-black energy and clashed it against Natsume's. Yet the amber ball was too strong and it pushed it back to Persona. Enraged, confused, desperate, and for the first time fearful, willed all of his energy with a battle cry. His mask cracked and broke and a large amount of energy poured out of him.

This was Persona. Evil as he was for others, greedy as he was to some, he was still powerful as ever— jumping to S level without the aid of an amplifier...

It has become the battle of S ranks, the fight for supremacy. But Natsume was too young and inevitably, the purple-black energy penetrated Natsume's. Sumire, who had grown limp long before Persona had executed his energy, had left Mikan to Tsubasa. Tsubasa gaped and Mikan chose this opportunity to run where the two S-ranks were fighting.

She chokingly called on Natsume's name. Outstretching her hand, trying to reach Natsume. She was too caught up on reaching Natsume that she hadn't notice it emit a pure white light— And then, an explosion followed.

Just like that, it was finished.

—

—

Mikan had an odd dream. It was an amber spirit ball floating in the air. She surprised herself however when she had tried to reach it instead of cowering away. The ball nevertheless was mindless of the courage she had exerted and inched away. Miffed, she began chasing it and as it grew farther, the spirit ball began to form a silhouette of a boy she knew so well.

When she woke up, the dazzling light burned her eyes and immediately, Karin, her personal servant, flew to her feet and hurriedly lowered the drapes.

Mikan blinked. _Karin?_ Curious and having a gut feeling, she opened her eyes to see a very familiar room.

Someone stirred from her side and Mikan's eyes immediately watered when she saw the auburn locks of Queen Yuka, tired and no doubt had stayed beside her for who-knows-how-long, sleeping.

Queen Yuka cracked an eye open and almost jumped when she saw her daughter conscious after so many days.

Without further ado, the mother and daughter braced and launched themselves for a tight hug, crying their eyes out dramatically; even Karin, who was merely watching the whole thing started to cry as well.

"Mom!" Mikan wailed and slipped the endearment before she could stop herself. Queen Yuka didn't like to be called 'mom' but rather 'My Queen' or something like that. Yuka didn't bother to correct her however and in fact happy to hear Mikan's sweet, loving endearment reserved only for her.

"Oh Mikan, my princess, my _love_," Queen Yuka was shaking with silent sobs and was stroking her daughter lovingly. "I am so happy... I've missed you." She then showered and smothered her daughter with kisses on the forehead, the nose, and both of the cheeks. Mikan chuckled weakly at her mother's rare showing of affections.

"I've missed you too mom. I'm sorry I—"

Yuka shushed reassuringly her daughter. "It doesn't matter, my dear. Is there something you want? Are you hungry? Is your body aching somewhere?"

Mikan was still hugging her mother, not wanting to let her go. "I love you Mom..."

Yuka's eyes softened even more and Mikan would have loved to take that picture but settled to committing it to her memory instead. "I love you more."

Mikan chuckled, she could get used to this. "You love me so much you won't force me to marry anymore or anyone?" Mikan quipped.

Her mother to her surprise had responded positively and affectionately stroked her hair. "You are free to marry anyone you love."

Mikan didn't want to introduce the topic about Natsume to her mother yet. She didn't want to push her luck, as she wanted to slowly open it up to her. "Mom, in my journey... I've learned I'm an..." She paused, trying to rack her brain for a euphemism but realized she had to be direct, "An alice."

There came seconds of silence until Yuka sighed resignedly. "I know," she said, somehow a grave look on her face. "Your alice is so unique. It can pull someone else's life force out of the body and solidify it as a stone."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mikan asked softly.

"You know why, you've met Narumi," her mother had said almost dismissively, having a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

Mikan caught on fast. "Are you two lovers?" Mikan whispered conspiratorially.

"_Were_ lovers," Yuka corrected. "Until my ambition of becoming a queen got in the way and married your father. And don't give me that reproaching look. I loved your father, in fact, unexpectedly, I loved him even more than I've loved Narumi."

"Is there any chance you'd get back together? Narumi-san seems nice."

Queen Yuka shook her head slowly and sighed somehow forlornly. "Some romances are better left behind, no matter how happy and thrilling it was... because it's simply not meant to be..." She looked into her daughter's eyes and for some unexplainable feeling, Mikan knew that her mother was not quite talking about she and Narumi...

Mikan gulped nervously. _Mother couldn't have known about Natsume, could she?_

"Actually, My Queen," she winced, knowing her mother would have sensed the sudden shift in formality. "I have met a lot of people in the ship. They are all fascinating and nice. One of them is a boy..."

Yuka's eyes grew grimmer and Mikan felt her heart thumping against her chest.

"I know you would probably dislike him mom but please try to like him, I love him. His name's Natsume. I know his background might not impress you but—"

Yuka cut her off with a shake of her head and held her daughter's hands. The grim look looked solemn now, almost apologetic. Instead of saying anything more, Yuka opted to pull out a stone much bigger than an average fist from a drawer and gave it to Mikan.

At first Mikan thought what was the deal with the stone but when Yuka explained she was found clenching it while she was unconscious, images came flooding back to her.

Natsume and Persona, fighting against each other, the purple-black ball crashing to Natsume, she running towards them, she unknowingly activating her alice for the first time, explosion, and then darkness.

Mikan had trouble breathing as she looked at the enormous alice stone. It was dysfunctional, she could tell. No energy was coming out of it as it was a tainted stone. The amber color was composed only of a small fraction and it was being swallowed greedily by the purple-back.

Her hands started to shake and she hyperventilated even more. She didn't want to ask— Didn't want to confirm. She didn't want the inescapable truth that Natsume was gone.

But Queen Yuka's apology as if it was her fault confirmed her fears.

And she had cried, cried so hard.

She remembered everything now.

She remembered his reluctance to promise her to be with her.

She remembered that sweet lingering kiss.

He knew.

He knew it would end up like this.

He knew that in order to beat Persona, he would have to sacrifice himself. And he did that, for her.

Not for the people of Amberlane, as he was apathetic to them.

Not for Hotaru, for she would sure rise to power.

Not for Youichi, he knew he deserved to be punished.

But for his innocent, sweet-smiling Mikan, not for any reason, but just because.

"Stupid," she cried, shaking as she beat her bed. "Stupid!"

It was just like Romeo and Juliet.

Natsume was her first love. Her first kiss.

Her first heartbreak.

—

—

**Ending Note(s):** Dragon ball anyone? :3

Forgive me for not updating sooner even though it's only a chapter away. I mean I got the draft finished long before but there were gaps and awkward scenes that made me cringe every time I read it... You have no idea how many times I've redone these last two chapters, and even now I think they were insufficient.

I won't promise anything about updating the next chapter... You know how lousy I am keeping promises.

And again sorry for being rusty, maybe some reviews would oil me up? :D


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